To Sleep... Perchance to Scream
by Reber02
Summary: Ken takes a gamble... And loses.
1. Default Chapter

Digimon Fic

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the DigiDestined. Oh yes, angst and violence warnings.

As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession. 

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

"I'm home," Ken Ichijouji called out to the apartment.Soccer practice had run late and he was still dressed in his green and black Tamachi uniform.The collar was ringed with damp sweat. Practice had been vigorous but Ken loved it. As usual, he had dominated his teammates. The coach had come to rely on him to direct the plays from the field.Ken didn't mind, he preferred being in control. But the real fun was just being able to run. It never ceased to thrill him while he was pelting down the field after the ball, his slender body responding to its fullest whenever he called upon it.Even though the dark spore was dormant, it still gave him a huge advantage over the other kids his age. While they were struggling to get used to their growing bodies, making them clumsy, Ken remained as graceful as a black panther.

He paused in the entryway to slip off his shoes and put on the slippers that his parents had given him for his birthday. He was just straightening up when he noticed there had been no answer. The apartment was silent, the noises of the traffic down below on the streets drifted up through the closed windows.No smells of supper cooking filled the set of rooms either. Drawing the conclusion that neither of his parents was home, Ken wandered into the living room to look for a note telling him where they might be.

A soft noise behind him spun him around. He looked for the source of the noise, his body instinctively assuming battle ready position, like his judo instructors had taught him.A shadow lurked near the door to his room, and he relaxed with a smile. "Hello Wormmon. How was your day?" he greeted his Digimon partner.

Emboldened by the boy's greeting, Wormmon stepped out into the light. His soft green hide glowed in the late afternoon light filtering through windows.Rising onto his hind sets of legs, Wormmon looked up adoringly as his human friend. "My day was good, although I missed you," he answered in his mournful voice.

Ken smiled and walked over, bent down and picked up the caterpillar.Wormmon was surprisingly light. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," Wormmon answered promptly.

Ken laughed quietly and put the insect Digimon back down on the floor."Ok, I'll get you something to eat then," he said and journeyed to the kitchen, turning on the television set and some lights along the way. Ken didn't like the dark, even though he was comfortable with it. Too comfortable was his fear, so he avoided it whenever possible.

The news was on at that time.As he opened the refrigerator to find a something for Wormmon to eat, he heard the latest traffic reports. "We are reporting live from downtown Tamachi, where a section of bridge has collapsed, killing several people in the debris.Engineers suspect the strain due recent earthquakes in Japan had weakened the structure, causing the collapse. As of now, the identities of the victims are being withheld until their families are notified," he finished.Ken straightened up with a bowl of leftover veal Parmesan in his hand and looked over to the television, but by then the newscast had moved to the weather. 

Opening the microwave, he slid the bowl in and set it on high for three minutes.Wormmon crawled into the kitchen and Ken smiled. "Be ready in a few minutes," he assured the Digimon. Wormmon's antenna quivered in eagerness. 

He was starting to look for a note when the phone rang. "Ichijouji residence," he answered on the second ring.

"Hey Ken!" Davis' cheerful voice greeted him and once again Ken smiled.Davis was his best friend, even though they didn't go the same schools. Davis was the first person to trust Ken after he finally pushed the darkness inside of him away, no longer the Digimon Emperor and started being just Ken. If it wasn't for Davis and his stubbornness, Ken knew that he would have been lost in that darkness forever.

"Hello Davis!" Ken answered. "What's going on?"

"Not much," was the reply. "I was just wondering if you and Wormmon were going to the Digital World tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was Saturday, Ken thought. "Yeah, we can be there. What did you have in mind?"

"Great! Veemon and I were going to play some soccer with the baby Digimon in the primary village. I was wondering if you wanted to join us. I mean, after all, you are almost as good as me," Davis teased. They both knew that as good as Davis was, Ken was great.

Ken smiled again. "Sure, thanks for inviting us, Davis," he said. In the kitchen, the microwave beeped that it was done.

"OK!" Ken could practically hear Davis jumping up and down. Playing soccer was the one thing that Davis truly loved to do. Playing soccer in the Digital World, with Ken, was the Digindestined leader's favorite past time.

"See you tomorrow," Ken said and Davis hung up.The TV droned on in the living room. Ken paused for a second, thinking they should have set a time to meet each other, but then decided to e-mail his friend later. The smell of the veal brought him back to his original mission, to feed his Digimon friend. Wormmon was waiting patiently for him, and the sight of his Digimon never ceased to bring a smile to the usually serious countenance of the former Digimon Emperor. The fact that he had such an incredible friend, one who had stuck by him through the dark times, and had even died in order to bring Ken back to the light, still amazed the young boy.

As Wormmon ate, Ken set his books on the table and spent some time studying for his calculus test on Monday.Integrating equations was almost second nature for him, but he still did his assignments diligently.For a while he had stopped studying, trying to be a normal boy, rather than the notorious genius. But after a while, he couldn't bear it anymore and resumed his studies.The need to stand out, even though he was no longer under the dark spore's influence, was ingrained deep inside him.Only now, he took quiet pride in his accomplishments.

Wormmon looked up at him, concern written plainly in those large blue eyes.Ken marveled at how much the small Digimon could express with those eyes. 

"Ken, aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

Ken smiled at the question.He had found himself smiling more and more each day lately. "I'm ok Wormmon. I don't need to eat very much." It was true. With the dark spore a part of him, food wasn't necessary.Lately, he had started eating more to please his parents, but if they weren't around to express concern about him, Ken opted not to. If he ate too much, he would almost feel sick. Sometimes Wormmon was worse than his parents when it came to Ken's health. "Are you full?" he asked.

The small Digimon nodded and Ken put him back down on the floor. "Get some rest, we are going to meet Davis and Veemon in the Primary village tomorrow and play some soccer," he said, and Wormmon's eyes light up with pleasure at seeing his Jogress partner.He nodded eagerly and crawled back to Ken's room.

Ken watched him go, a soft small playing about his lips. Deciding he should take a shower, he followed the little insect Digimon into his room and retrieved a change of clothes and a towel from the linen closet. A shower would feel good, he thought. After he had scrubbed himself down and washed his silky black hair, he luxuriated in the spray for a few minutes, enjoying the pounding water on his body. With a regretful sigh, he finally turned off the water.As he toweled himself dry, he listened for any sound that his parents might be home, but there was nothing but sounds from the television out in the apartment.

He ran the soft cloth over his slender figure. Ever since that damned spore had become a part of him, he had become hyperaware of his body.At times he would swear that he could feel his own blood moving through his veins.Every sensation was enhanced, and every nerve was alive with extra energy.He wondered if it was this awareness that made him so very exceptional at physical activities. His finished drying himself off, then put on a t-shirt that Davis had given him for his birthday.It was purple and had the Nike logo emblazoned on the front in gold. Ken's mother didn't let him wear it in public, but Ken liked it and wore it at home every chance he got. Most of his wardrobe was given to him from companies that wanted him to endorse their products. Nike hadn't been one of them, thus his mother's aversion. Slipping on a pair of simple white boxers and gray sweatpants and hanging up the towel to dry, he exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam.

His parents still weren't home, so Ken collected his books from the kitchen table and brought them to his desk in his bedroom, where he could study some more.He opened his calculus book again and glanced up at his bed. Wormmon was snuggled under the covers; the slow rise and fall of the little caterpillar's breathing once again brought a tender smile to the young genius' lips, and a sparkle to his violet eyes. Then he bent his head down and concentrated on derivatives.

A knock at the door broke his concentration, and Ken looked up at the clock.He had been studying for an hour. The sun was setting, casting long shadows in his room. The black-haired boy wondered where his parents were at this late hour, but figured they had been caught in traffic or something.If there were an emergency, they would have called.

He walked to the door and asked, "Who is it?" before opening it. Ken was famous, and his mother lived in fear that someone would try to kidnap him.So to please her, he always asked who was on the other side of the door.

"I am Detective Satoshi," was the answer. Frowning, Ken opened the door and looked up at the tall, dark-haired man standing respectfully a few feet back from the door. He was dressed in a rumpled suit and overcoat that looked like it had been slept in. Seeing Ken, the man flashed his badge. Ken studied the badge, reading the name and number for future reference."Are you Ken Ichijouji?" the man asked, his voice seemed slightly hoarse.

Ken looked at the policeman and asked, "Yes I am. Can I help you?" Satoshi seemed harried, dark circles ringed his tired eyes, and there were lines around his mouth from frowning too much. But when he looked at Ken, he seemed more sad than anything else.

The man shifted uncomfortably and said, "Can I come in?"

Ken debated for a second, but opened the door to allow the detective inside the apartment. If the man was up to no good, Ken had no doubt that he could take care of him, with Wormmon's help. Ken followed him into the living room, where the television set was still on, running the local sports scores. The young boy picked up the remote control and hit the mute button. Then he turned to the policeman and waiting for him to get down to business.

The man looked at Ken and gestured for him to sit down. Once again Ken debated, but did as he was bidden.As he sat on the couch, a strange feeling was starting to form in the pit of his stomach, and distantly Ken wondered if maybe he should have eaten something after all. He was aware that his heart was beating a little faster than usual. Then Detective Satoshi took a deep breath and spoke.

"Son, I have some bad news for you. At three thirty this afternoon, a section of bridge collapsed in downtown Tamachi, by the train station.There were fifteen people buried in the rubble. We were able to identify two of them as your parents," he stopped and looked at Ken, who looked back at him, his violet eyes wide.

"I saw that on the news. Are they all right?" he asked, the strange feeling in his stomach growing with each breath, and his mouth was curiously dry. He licked his lips, trying to work some moisture into the dry tissues.

"I'm sorry son," the detective shook his head. "They were pronounced dead on arrival at Tamachi General Hospital."

For a few seconds that stretched into an eternity, Ken didn't move.He seemed even more aware of his surroundings than usual.He could hear the hum of the muted television set, as well as the muffled sounds of the cars on the street below the apartment. He heard himself draw a breath and let it out; all the while he stared straight at the police detective in front of him. The police detective looked back at him, the sorrow in his gaze was unfeigned.

Ken swallowed. "Are you sure?" was the only thing he could think to ask.

Satoshi nodded and approached the young genius. Placing a hand on Ken's shoulder, he said, "I am very sorry." 

Ken hated to be touched and drew away from the hand that offered the comfort of a complete stranger.It might have had something to do with that damned spore inside him, but he avoided physical contact with most people. Touching was too intimate for the hypersensitive boy. There were very few people he let touch him.

Seeing Ken draw away, the policeman dropped his hand. "Is there someone you can call?" he asked gently. He saw the utter shock in those huge eyes, noting absently that they were so blue they were almost violet. A rare and vivid color to be sure. The boy would break hearts one day, if not today, Satoshi decided. But that was not the issue now. Having seen that look of shock on too many times on too many faces in his lifetime, the detective knew that Ken shouldn't be alone at that time."Son?" he asked, trying to get through to the pale boy sitting on the couch.

Why was he calling me son? Ken wondered. I'm not his son. My father is…dead? Ken went utterly numb, for a second he couldn't even feel his heart beat. Then he slowly shook his head, still staring at the detective. "No," he whispered.

"I'm sorry son," the detective said again. Why did he keep saying that? Ken wondered. "Do you have any relatives?"

Ken shook his head again. Both of his parents were only children, as was Ken now that Sam was dead. All of his grandparents were deceased. His family was gone. 

And just like that, Ken realized that he was alone.

"Is there someone whom you can stay with?" Satoshi persisted. He knew that for all of the poise the young genius possessed, he was still only eleven years old.

Ken tried to think, but for some reason, his thoughts were fuzzy, like a camera out of focus.Who could he stay with? Why couldn't he stay here, at home? But Satoshi was waiting for an answer.Who was there?The first person he thought of was Davis. Ken was confident that Davis would let him stay at his place for a night. He noted the concerned look on Satoshi's face. "I have a friend and his family," he said. His voice was surprisingly calm.

Satoshi smiled. "Ok, I'll call them and let them know what happened," he said, right before his cell phone rang. Satoshi looked annoyed but answered it.Ken just stared up at the policeman who, with a few words, had forever changed his life. Ken tried to feel something, grief, rage, pain, anything, but the cold numbness that pervaded his body refused to lessen. 

Satoshi growled into his phone and hung up. "I'm sorry son, but there is an emergency and I have to go. Will you be ok on your own?" he asked worriedly. He hated to leave the child alone under such horrible circumstances, but he had no choice. The criminal elements in Tamachi were working overtime lately, and all the police departments were stretched to their limits.It killed Satoshi that one child like this was left to suffer alone, but he was helpless to do any more for young Ichijouji."Call your friends and let them know what happened. I'll be back to check on you later. I am sorry, son." With one last worried look, Satoshi let himself out of the apartment, cursing whatever gods had allowed this tragedy to happen to that boy.

Ken heard the door close, but it only registered in the back of his mind. It was just one more sound to catalog and file away like all the other information that was unconsciously processed throughout the day.Instead, the young boy sat still on the couch and tried to comprehend how the bottom had completely fallen out of his world in such a short time.

He wasn't sure just how long he had sat there, on the couch, staring at the mute television and not seeing the popular sitcom that was now airing. Ken tried to think, but it was hard. Why couldn't he think? What had happened? Satoshi had said that his parents were dead, killed in some freak accident. No, he decided, that was wrong. His parents were not dead. They would be coming through the door any minute, and start asking him about his day. How did he do on his computer science test? And how was soccer practice? They couldn't be gone. The thought was ridiculous.

He jumped as the phone rang loudly in the silent apartment. For a few seconds, he stared at it like he had never seen the device before in his life. Then the thought that it might be his mother was finally calling to tell him that she and his father were running late, and to help himself to dinner occurred to him.With a wild hope, he reached out and grabbed the phone.

"Ichijouji residence," he said, waiting expectantly to hear his mother's breathy voice apologizing for not calling him sooner.

"Hello, is this Ken?" a man's voice asked. He heard strange sounds coming from the background, like a lot of people shouting.It wasn't his father and Ken felt a surge of annoyance. His parents were probably trying to call him right now and this fool was tying up the line. "Yes, this is Ken. Who is this?" he asked, a trifle rude, but Ken was not in a chatting mood.

"This is Brad Taiga from the Tamachi Herald newspaper. I was wondering if you would be willing to give us a statement about the accident that killed your parents today."

Ken's violet eyes widened in renewed shock.He gasped and dropped the phone as if it had stung him. As if in slow motion, he watched the receiver fall to the carpeted floor. On the other end, he could still hear the reporter blathering on.He swallowed and with numb fingers, reached down and picked up the phone, pressing the off button and hanging it back up on its cradle.As soon as his hand released the phone, it started ringing again. With a cry of a wounded animal, Ken reached over and ripped the cord from the phone, cutting it off in mid ring.

Silence once again filled the apartment.Ken ran shaking hands through his straight black hair, trying desperately to get a grip on himself.If only he could think.Why couldn't he think? He was supposed to be a genius, and right now, he could barely remember his name. He became aware of a sound finally. It was his own breathing, coming in hard pants. The reporter's call had completely shattered his budding illusions that his parents were running late and just forgotten to call. 

Reporters. They would find him. He didn't want that to happen. They mustn't see him like this. They could only see Ken Ichijouji, the cool young genius with nerves of steel. They couldn't see the newly orphaned eleven-year-old boy who was shaking so hard that his teeth were chattering.

A sound in the hall outside the apartment brought him out of his paralysis.There was someone out there. Oh no, the reporters had found him. They were mad that he wouldn't talk to them on the phone, so they had come to his home. Nearly panicking, Ken ran to the door and slid the bolt home. He was breathing hard like he had just run a mile at his best speed, the sweat was pouring down his face. For a minute he just leaned his forehead against the wooden door and gasped. Then he turned around and leaned his back against the door as his knees slowly gave out. Ken slid down until he was sitting with his back against the door and drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and leaning his head against his knees.

He wondered if he was going to cry.

He didn't.

TBC…


	2. To Sleep... Perchance to Scream

Digimon Fic chapter 2

Digimon Fic chapter 2

Ken walked through darkness. 

Not an ordinary type of dark, with subtle contrasting lighter and darker shades of blacks. This was a pitch black that has never known the light of day or even a dim glow of a candle. As he walked through the darkness, he could sense other creatures there with him. He could feel their fear and helplessness that accompanied it, being unable to see. But that fear didn't touch him. It was darkness that accompanied the deepest sorrow and the greatest pain. It was the heart of darkness and he wasn't afraid of it.He was all too well acquainted with it for it to scare him.

A dim cone light appeared before him. Frowning, he made his way to it, wondering what kind of light had the audacity to break his darkness. As he got closer, he could make out people standing in the light, and they acted as if they could see him. He could see them beckoning to him, wanting him to join them in the light. An unexpected surge of happiness spread throughout him and he rushed to them, but slammed to a stop at the very edge of the light by an invisible wall.

As he stood there, unable to penetrate the light barrier, he could make out his parents, and the other Digidestined, even Sam! They were standing in the cone of light, smiling and waving at him. He could see they were speaking, but it was utterly silent on his side of the barrier. He pushed harder, trying to get through to his friends and family. But the barrier wouldn't budge. 

Then the silence was split by laughter. It was a harsh, triumphant laugh that brought the small hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention. Turning back into darkness, he tried to locate the source of the horrible noise. As it grew louder, he could make out words mingled with the mocking hilarity.

"Did you think that you were rid of me Ken?" it sneered, the sound dove at him, twisting like a snake and Ken pressed his back against the wall that separated him from the light. "You are mine!"

"No!" Ken shouted defiantly at the disembodied voice. He wasn't scared of the darkness, and some stupid voice wasn't going to get the best of him, not while he had his family and friends with him.

"Ken!" he heard his mother call frantically. Spinning around, he could see his parents and his friends fading away. The light had taken on a harsh quality, like the awful fluorescent bulbs that department stores always used. He pounded on the barrier with his fists, trying to get to them before they were gone completely, but it was no use.

"Mother!" he screamed. "Don't go! Please, Mother, Father! Don't go!" 

"Ken!" a voice whispered harshly and a hand shook his shoulder.

"No!" he begged, still trying to reach his family, and his friends who were by now mere shadows in the light. "Mother!" he called again.

"Ken, wake up!" the voice begged, and the light faded, until, "Davis?"

"Yeah, man. It's me," Davis said, sitting on the edge of Ken's bed. "Another nightmare, huh?"

It had been three days since the Ichijoujis' funeral and Ken was staying with the Motoyimas.Davis remembered the horrified tone of his sister Jun's voice as she told the rest of her family that she heard on the television that Ken's parents had been killed. Without hesitating, Davis made his parents drive straight over to Tamachi. Mr. and Mrs. Motoyima knew that Ken and Davis were best friends and had encouraged their son's friendship with the young genius, hoping some of Ken's drive and study habits would rub off on their only son.

Davis had never felt so frantic as when he pounded on the door of the Ichijouji apartment and there was no answer. He knew Ken was in there, alone except for Wormmon. He didn't know how he knew, but he didn't question the gut feelings that always guided him when dealing with the Child of Kindness.Ken didn't answer to his knocking. Davis ignored his parents' questions and knocked again, louder this time.

There was still no answer. 

"Are you sure he's in there?" Davis' father asked him. Davis didn't answer. Instead he knocked yet again, and this time hollered "Ken! Hey man, it's me, Davis! Open the door!"

For a few seconds there was still no answer, and then the sound of the door being unlocked greeted them. Mr. and Mrs. Motoyima glanced at each other. Then the sight of the young genius standing in the doorway erased any thought of their son's erratic behavior.

Ken was wearing gray sweatpants, a purple t-shirt with the Nike logo and an utterly blank look that went along with deep shock.His face was so pale, except for the huge violet eyes, that Davis was sure that Ken was sick. Then Ken opened the door wide enough to let them in, then closed it and locked it once again.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. I thought you might be more reporters," Ken apologized softly as they removed their shoes and the young man escorted them to the living room. 

Hearing Ken mention reporters, Davis scowled angrily as he sat on the couch."Have they been bothering you?" he asked, noticing that the phone had been unplugged.The nerve of some people made the young man's blood boil.

Ken shook his head, his dark hair contrasting with the paleness of his delicate features. "No, they have been trying to call though," he answered in a calm voice. Too calm, the grown-ups decided with concern.

"How long ago did you find out?" Davis' father questioned gently. 

Ken remained standing, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. He looked over at the clock. He stared at it for a few seconds as if the timepiece was a foreign language."A half hour I think," Ken replied, running a hand through his hair."The policeman had to leave right away," he added softly. "But he wanted me to go stay with someone. I was going to call you and ask if it was ok if I stayed with Davis for the night. But I don't want to be a bother."

Davis, who had been sitting surprisingly still for Davis, jumped to his feet and placed a hand on Ken's shoulder. Ken didn't draw away; he just looked at the goggle-wearing boy steadily. Davis hated the blank look in Ken's eyes. "Oh, god Ken! Don't ever think that it's a bother. You can stay with us for as long as you like," he offered. He was sure his parents would support him in this.

Mr. and Mrs. Motoyima looked at each other. "Ken, do you have any relatives?" Davis' father asked.

Ken looked at him and shook his head again. "No, sir. My parents were only children, and all my grandparents are dead. I am an only child as well, since my brother died," he finished, looking down at the floor. The only thing he could feel was Davis' hand on his arm; otherwise he was still completely numb. 

Hearing this, Davis' mother's maternal instincts raged to the surface and she swept Ken up into a hug, ignoring the child's stiffening in her arms."Davis is right Ken, you are welcome to stay with us as long as you want to," she said, stroking back the fine black hair. 

Ken bore the indignity for a minute, and then he pulled back and bowed politely to the grown-ups. "Thank you for your kindness. I'd rather not stay here, in case the reporters find me. I will go pack an overnight bag. "

"I'll help," Davis announced and they left for Ken's bedroom.

Davis' mother turned to her husband. "That poor boy," she said, tears in her eyes.

Mr. Motoyima wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "At least he has Davis as a friend," he murmured.He was still thinking about Davis' offer to Ken. When the door to Ken's bedroom closed, he steered his wife to the small kitchen where they could have a quiet conversation about the newly orphaned child's future.

Ken had shut the bedroom door behind Davis so he could talk to Wormmon without Davis' parents overhearing. He climbed up on his lofted bed and gently shook the sleeping Digimon awake. On the floor, Davis rummaged through Ken's closet, looking for his friend's duffel bag.

"Wormmon, wake up," Ken said in a low voice. 

Instantly the caterpillar opened his large blue eyes. "Hello, Ken. What's going on?" the Digimon questioned sleepily.

"We are going to spend the night with Davis and Veemon." Ken told him with a slight smile. The rookie Digimon brightened and crawled out from under the covers. "Can you di-digivolve to Leafmon, friend?" the black-haired genius requested and Wormmon nodded. The caterpillar then glowed briefly and reconfigured into a small green ball with a leaf in top.

"Is that ok, Ken?" he questioned cutely.

"Perfect," Ken told him and gently gathered up the in-training Digimon in his arms.He hopped down from the bunk as Davis backed out of the closet, dragging the duffel bag.Nodding his thanks, Ken opened his dresser drawers and began to select some neatly folded clothes. 

Davis cleared his throat and said very softly, "Hey, Ken. I'm sorry."

Ken froze for a few seconds then resumed packing his belongings.Davis, seeing that Ken wasn't willing to talk at the time, let it go.Usually when Ken went sphinx, Davis was would nag, cajole and pester his friend until Ken would finally open up to the leader of the Digidestined, just to get some peace.But Davis, who was not nearly as thick as many of his teachers believed him to be, knew that now was not the time for words. But that didn't mean that Davis would forget about it. Ken would talk to him soon, the goggle-wearing boy decided. 

The last thing Ken packed was his new laptop.He had bought it with some of the money he had received from the soccer ball company. The rest of it had gone into his trust fund. Ken was in reality, very wealthy, even though he wouldn't be able to use the money until he turned 18 years old.The laptop was state of the art, and with Ken's tweaking, he thought that is might be even better than Izzy's.

"Ready?" Davis asked. Ken hesitated, and then nodded.Davis grabbed the duffel bad and hefted it over his shoulder so Ken could carry his Digimon. He opened the door and left the room. Ken, cradling Leafmon in his arms like a stuffed animal followed after glancing over the room one last time. 

By this time, Davis' parents were waiting in the living room once more.They knew that there were going to be some big decisions that had to be made, and that the next few days were going to be very hard on Ken. But they were determined to support the young genius in any way possible.

The funeral had been a trial. All the other Digidestined came with their families. Some friends and neighbors and probably every reporter in Tokyo attended as well.Each was trying to get an interview or a picture of the famous boy. The Digidestined closed ranks, though, not letting anyone near their friend. Tai and Matt nearly threw one particularly irritating man through a window. They didn't, but it was a close thing. Davis, who never left his partner's side, spent the entire time either staring at him in concern, or glaring fiercely at reporters that got too close

Throughout the funeral, and the burial, Ken only changed expression once.His delicate features were utterly devoid of emotion, until the caskets had been lowered. A swift pang of agony crossed his face, a mixture of fear, helplessness, and grief clearly visible to those who saw it. Then he resumed his usual blank expression.Finally, it was over and after the last condolence had been given, Ken was allowed to go to his new home.

Finding out that Ken was now a ward of the state, the Motomiyas applied for custody of the eleven year old.Since there was no next of kin, the state rewarded them and Davis' parents became Ken's legal guardians. Davis thought it was great, as did the rest of the family. Ken didn't offer an opinion. 

However, life changed when Ken moved in with the Motomiyas.Ken had become used to being an only child, and now he had to deal with having siblings again.Because there were only three bedrooms in the Motoyimas apartment, so Ken had to share a room with Davis.Mr. Motoyimas purchased a set of bunk beds for them, but the room was quite small and try as they might, the boys were continuously in each other's way.

Mrs. Motoyima, seeing how slender Ken was, decided to try to put weight on the child. The first time the family sat down to supper, Ken stared in wonder at the huge pile of food on his plate and turned green at the thought of eating all of it.

Slowly, he picked up his chopsticks and began to nibble on a piece of vegetable that looked somewhat like a carrot.Beside him, Davis was digging in with enthusiasm.

"Ken, aren't you hungry?" Davis' mother asked in concern.

Ken smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not very hungry right now," he said, hoping that Mrs. Motoyima would think that the lack of appetite was due to the recent tragedy, which it was, partly.

"That's ok, you can eat what you want right now, and finish the rest later. I want you to try to eat as much as you can. You really need to gain some weight, you are so skinny!" she exclaimed. "I will see that you put some meat on those bones, young man," she beamed.

Ken groaned mentally at the fanatical look in her eyes. His mother had tried to make him eat as well. While under the influence of the dark spore, he had made it clear to his parents that he would eat what he wanted, and nothing else. His parents, in awe of their genius son, had let him have his way.But he could tell by looking at Mrs. Motoyima that she wasn't going to be intimidated by the Child of Kindness so easily. He knew where Davis got his bullheadedness from just by looking at her.

Searching for a way out, he glanced at Davis' rapidly emptying plate out of the corner of his eye, and began to form a plan.

A little while later, Mrs. Motoyima asked, "Davis, would you like seconds?" as she automatically reached for a bowl of food to hand to her son, who was pushing away his empty plate.

Davis startled her by shaking his head. "No thank you Mom," he said, sitting back and sighing. "I'm pretty stuffed."

She stared at her hyperactive son skeptically. He had never turned down seconds, sometimes even asking for thirds. But he had said that he was full. Beside him, Ken's plate was empty as well. She smiled broadly at the new addition to the family. "Ken, I'm so glad to see that you've eaten everything!" 

Ken smiled back, his violet eyes wide with innocence. "It was very good, ma'am," he said. "Do you need help with the dishes?" he offered.

She shook her head. "No, it's Jun's turn tonight," eliciting a scowl of protest from her daughter. "Why don't you two go and play some video games or something," she suggested. "Davis, are you sure you don't want more?"

Davis just grinned, "I'm sure." It was rather strange but Davis could have sworn that food seemed to be materializing on his plate, no matter how fast he ate it. But Davis was never one to overanalyze a situation, especially where food was concerned. So he tapped Ken on the arm and challenged, "I'll bet I can kick your sorry butt at Twisted Metal Three."

Davis' mother was shocked. "Davis!" she exclaimed.

But Ken smirked, not a smile but it was close. "I hate to rain on your parade, Motoyima. You couldn't beat your grandmother, let alone me." 

Davis pretended to be insulted. "Thems fighting words, Ichijouji! Time to put your money where your mouth is!" and grabbing Ken's arm and dragged him off to the living room.

Mrs. Motoyima smiled after them and stood up to help Jun with the dishes.A burst of laughter from Davis, and a quiet murmur from Ken made her hesitate. What will become of them? She wondered, listening to Davis' chatter. I can't protect them all the time, she thought. What if something happens to us like it did to Ken's parents? They are young and strong. But sometimes, oh sometimes I think I can see a darkness surrounding them, especially Ken, and I'm so afraid for them. But sometimes, I think I'm afraid of them.

The phone interrupted her musings, and soon she had forgotten her concerns as her neighbor caught her up on the latest gossip.

The days went by fairly smoothly. It was near the end of the quarter at Tamachi School, so Ken was able to miss the last few days and still pass with exceptionally high marks. He was changing to Odaiba now that he was staying with the Motoyimas, making Davis happy. He promised to put in a good word with the soccer coach on Ken's behalf.Ken only stared at the Digidestined's leader in bemusement. Davis assured him it was a joke.Odaiba was out on spring break, so Davis was constantly around to make sure Ken was never alone. The other Digidestined dropped in to visit as well.Ken's transition to his new family seemed to go fairly smoothly.

But nights were a different story. 

"Mother? Don't go! Please?" Ken begged softly from the upper bunk.

About an hour after they fell asleep, Davis woke up to a soft whimpering from the upper bunk. He could feel Ken shifting around uneasily above him. At first Davis just lay there, listening to his friend's torment. But it tore at his heart and he climbed up to the top bunk. Leafmon was shivering at the foot of the bed, staring at Ken in concern. Davis reached out and shook the trembling boy awake.

"Ken," he whispered frantically. "Hey, Ken! Wake up!" he shook Ken again.

Ken stiffened, and then relaxed as the nightmare faded. "Mom?" he asked in a voice filled with sleep and hope.

"No, it's me, Davis," Davis said regretfully, sitting back to give his friend room. He hated seeing Ken this vulnerable. "You were having a nightmare, man. It sounded pretty bad so I woke you up."

Ken didn't move for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Thanks Davis," he whispered and rolled over on his back to stare at the dark ceiling.

Davis bit his lip then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ken didn't move for a few seconds, the shook his head slowly. "No, I don't," he sighed. Leafmon made his way up the side of the bed and snuggled under Ken's arm, trying to comfort his partner. 

Davis nodded, then climbed back down into his bed. Pulling the covers up over himself again, he let out a deep breath. Neither of them got much sleep that night.

Or the next night. 

Or the night after that.

After the third night of nightmares, Ken decided that is was time to take some drastic steps.

Recruiting Davis to help him wasn't too hard. Davis was always up for an adventure. He didn't tell Davis what the purpose of their little field trip to the television station was, though.Davis was nearly being eaten alive with curiosity, but Ken wouldn't even give him a hint. Davis tried to pester Ken into telling him, but sometimes Ken could be as stubborn as the Child of Courage and Friendship. 

With the confidence of one who is long used to being the center of attention, Ken approached the receptionist with Davis in tow.

"Good afternoon. My friend and I are working on a school project involving modern traffic problems and how technology is used to solve them," Ken announced to the receptionist of the television station. The older women looked suspiciously at the two boys standing in front of her desk. The dark-haired one looking directly at her was vaguely familiar, though she couldn't place him at the time. He was holding a briefcase and dressed in a plain gray school uniform.She thought she recognized as the type worn by Tamachi students. 

His friend was slightly shorter and stockier, his wild reddish brown hair was held out of his eyes by a pair of goggles of all things. He was busy staring in wonder at all the television monitors in the lobby, each of them set to the same station. He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, with running shoes and socks that sagged around his ankles. He was holding a book bag.

"A school project?" she questioned and the dark haired boy nodded. She thought about it and couldn't see why not. "Very well, what did you have in mind?" She opened a notebook and started jotting in it. 

"We would like to see the room where the traffic cameras transmit their data and it can be analyzed so it can be of use to the policemen in addition to the locale population." Ken purposefully used big words in his little speech. One reason was that is made him seem more mature and another was that it was his experience that big words tended to intimidate people. The receptionist didn't seem to be the overly brainy type and his speech got the desired results.

"Let me call the traffic center and see if they are busy," she harrumphed at Ken and Davis, who beamed back at her, radiating innocence.After a brief conversation, she put the phone back in its cradle. "They are willing to let you look around," she said almost grudgingly. The boy wearing the goggles opened his mouth to comment, but jumped when his dark-haired companion kicked him. 

"Thank you very much." The dark-haired boy bowed politely and nudged for his friend to do the same.

The receptionist pulled out two passes and asked their names.

"Davis Motoyima," Davis said and she printed Davis' first name in large letters and handed him a clip-on name card. 

"Ken," Ken supplied his first name, but was reluctant to reveal his last name. He preferred to keep a low profile, and use his fame only when all other avenues were exhausted. After he received his card and the instructions how to get to the traffic center, they both bowed politely and walked through the metal detector.Ken's briefcase set it off, and after showing the secretary his laptop inside, both were allowed to proceed.

"What are we doing here?" Davis asked in a low voice for the seventh time since they started the venture as they made their way down the quiet corridors.He shifted the bag from his right shoulder to his left, ignoring the sleepy protests from Leafmon and Chibimon. "You and I both know we are not here for a school project." 

"I need to get some information," Ken answered calmly, looking utterly confident. "If I had told her that, she would have wanted to know what and why, which is none of her business, and probably wouldn't have let us in just because she could.This way I gave her a perfectly believable explanation and she didn't think to question it. Grown-ups will let you get away with practically anything if they think it's for a school project," the young genius explained to the Digidestined's leader. 

Davis digested that. What Ken said was true. He had never thought about it before, but seeing Ken in action had made him a believer. He was learning that if Ken put his mind to something, nothing would get in his way. Except for conquering the Digital World, Davis amended. Davis snuck a look at Ken as they turned a corner. 

Ken looked perfectly all right, like he didn't have a care in the world, but Davis knew better. They slept in the same room at night he heard Ken's terrible nightmares.

The found the room, and Ken turned to Davis. "When I give you the signal, I want you to create a distraction. I need to be alone in there for a few minutes," he instructed.

"A five minute distraction, huh?" Davis mused, scratching his head. He grinned lopsidedly. "Sure! I think I can do that!"

Ken shot his a suspicious look, but he needed Davis to do this. "Ok, the signal will be this," and promptly kicked Davis in the ankle. Davis exclaimed in surprise and hopped out of Ken's range.

"OW! Ken!" he admonished. "Not so hard!"

Ken rolled his eyes. "Quit being such a baby. C'mon," and pushed open the door to the Traffic Control center. 

The walked into a room with hundreds of tiny television screens flickering in black and white.Ken ignored them and centered his gaze on the man at the desk, who was drinking coffee. "Excuse me," he said politely. "My name is Ken and this is Davis. We are doing a research project on traffic problems and solutions. Could you explain what it is you do here?"

The man, whose life was exceptionally boring at that time, brightened considerably. He launched into a detailed account of what went on in the Traffic Control Center. Ken opened his brief case and set up his laptop. He began typing quickly as he listened to the man talk. The man assumed that the boy was taking notes for future reference. 

"Is there records kept of accidents?" Ken asked, not looking up from his computer.

"Yes, each camera is digital. It keeps its memory for about ten minutes before the memory is cleared and it starts over. But if there is an accident, or disaster caught on film, it will be saved and held in case of insurance or legal reasons," he man explained.

As he absorbed this, Ken looked around at each of the cameras.They were numbered, and each screen was shifting from camera to camera in a certain section of the city.Ken studied the screens, and then his violet eyes narrowed as he acquired his target. Subtly, he shifted his weight and kicked Davis in the ankle.

Davis, who had been fascinated with all the different views of the city, jumped slightly, and then remembered what Ken wanted him to do. From the moment they entered the Control Center, Davis knew what he was going to do. He reached over and pretended to point to something, and succeeded in knocking the hot coffee all over the man's desk and lap. "Oh, man! I am so sorry! Here, let me help you clean it up!" 

The man, who was feeling his lap getting very hot, jumped to his feet and staggered to the door. "No, I'll get it," he assured them, and in a crouch, headed to the bathroom as fast as he could.

Davis grinned. "I am so good!" he congratulated himself.

"Davis," Ken said, his voice held just a hint of warning. "I wanted you to distract him, not put him in the hospital."

Davis blushed. "Sorry," he apologized.

Ken was hooking up his computer to the computer in the center. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Just stand by the door and tell me when he comes back."

Davis obediently went and stood by the door. From that vantage point he couldn't see what Ken was doing. He bounced impatiently on his heels. "Are you almost done?" he asked.

"Just about," Ken answered, typing furiously. The computer whirred as it worked. Ken stared at the machine, will it to hurry before the man came back.

Davis heard approaching footsteps. "He's coming!" he hissed.

Ken, praying that he got what he wanted, disconnected the computer just as the door swung open. Immediately, Davis was all over the man, apologizing over and over again. The man forgave the boy, but it was clear that their visit was over. Both of them bowed politely and then backed out the door.

"Did you get what you came for?" Davis asked, bouncing alone beside Ken, who was walking calmly, despite his pounding heart.

"I think so. I hope so," Ken said. And refused to speak more about it until they got back to Odaiba.

When they got home, everyone else was gone. Ken set up his computer and Davis wandered into the kitchen to make sandwiches for himself and the digimon.

For a few minutes, it was quiet. The only sound was Ken's typing.Then it got completely silent as Ken stopped typing."Davis?" Ken asked quietly.

"Yeah?" Davis answered with his mouth full of peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Could you look at this a minute and tell me what you see?" Ken requested, in a queerly flat tone.

Davis brushed his hands free of crumbs and leaned over to view the screen as Ken hit the play button. Davis watched the screen, his browns eyes narrowed in anger as he realized what he was watching. On the screen, a black and white video was being played of a bridge collapsing.

"Do you mean we snuck into the television station so you could get a video of your parents' being crushed to death?" Davis screeched in horror. "Ken, you're sick!"

Ken ignored Davis's outburst. Instead he concentrated on the video, looking for a clue, anything at all that would either lay his suspicions to rest, or…he didn't want to think about the alternative just yet.

Davis tried to wrestle the laptop away from Ken.Then something caught his eye and Ken stopped the video.Typing quickly, he zoomed in on one section of the picture. Ken felt his stomach clench as he recognized the figure on the screen. Davis tried to reach around him when Ken spun to face him and locked a hand around his arm, freezing it in mid-grab.

"Quit it," Ken snapped. "Look at this," he ordered in the next breath, moving to give Davis an unobstructed view of the screen.

Davis shook his head. "No, you sick bastard. You may get off on seeing your parents die, but I don't!" Davis tried to free his arm, but Ken held firm.

"Davis!" Ken shook him, attempting to get through the thick skull of the leader of the Digidestined. "Just look at it, and tell me what you see."

Davis glared at his best friend, but something in Ken's eyes made him back down. "What am I looking for?" he muttered as he fixed his unwilling gaze on the grainy screen displaying a picture of a bridge with cars driving over it, and people walking under it. 

"The upper right hand corner, does that look familiar?" Ken questioned as he let go of Davis and slumped back in his chair.. He reached up and scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, trying to come to terms with what he now knew to be the truth.

Davis was absolutely quiet as he absorbed what he was seeing, "Holy shit, Dude. Is that…?" he trailed off as the implications started to sink in.

The Child of Kindness nodded, dropping his hands to his sides. "Yes it is," he confirmed. "Daemon was responsible for the bridge collapsing. Daemon killed my parents," Ken said flatly. 

TBC


	3. Painted Black

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the DigiDestined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. So although I try to stick to cannon as much as possible, there are some things that I have to guess at. 

As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession. 

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Chapter 3

Davis stared at the laptop's screen in horror. Daemon's visage, frozen on the paused video, returned his stare with triumphant contempt. The eleven-year-old leader of the Digidestined could almost feel a part of his childhood slip away under that gaze.It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Every time the young Digidestined had squared off against the evil Digimon, they had always come out on top.Oh, sure. There had been some close calls, some pretty narrow scrapes, but each time they had come out the victor.They had all been able to go home. _No one had died._

But Daemon had changed that. The evil Digimon had killed humans, deliberately and with great maliciousness. He had killed Ken's parents in order to get at the Child of Kindness.In the recesses of his child's mind, Davis knew that the rules had changed. People could die because of a Digital Monster. People _had _died because of one. Ken's parents had been killed. That meant that other people's parents could be killed. Davis' family could be killed as well!

_They can kill people! _His mind shrieked in outrage and betrayal of his beliefs._He killed people! He killed Ken's parents!_He looked over at Ken. What he saw shocked him almost as much as his shattered illusions.

Ken was sitting back in his chair, glaring at Daemon's image on the screen. Cold rage glittered in his violet eyes, narrowed in contemplation as if sizing up the enemy.But any horror, grief, or shock that Davis would have expected to see was absent. "Ken?" he asked hesitantly.

"He killed them because of me," Ken said in barely more than a whisper, but laced with hate. Davis wasn't sure whom it was directed at, Daemon or Ken himself."I'm the reason they're dead."

Davis' brown eyes opened wide in horror. "No! Don't you believe it, Ken!" he shouted. 

Ken looked at Davis, his expression unreadable. "Of course I believe it, Davis. It's the truth. If Daemon wasn't after me, my parents and the rest of those people would still be alive." Davis could have sworn that Ken's eyes turned darker, nearing black. But it may have been a trick of the light. Ken abruptly stood up, shoving his chair back.

"What are you doing?" Davis asked uneasily.

"Leaving," Ken announced. "My being here puts you and your family in danger."

Any other child might have felt the slightest bit of relief at Ken's leaving.Ken was right; his presence _was _putting Davis and his family in grave danger. But Davis wasn't the Child of Friendship and Courage for nothing. He never even considered letting Ken take off to face Daemon on his own.

Grabbing Ken by his shoulders, he spun the Child of Kindness around to face him. "No! You are not leaving. We are friends and you are my partner. We will face it together!" Davis felt frustration at not being able to articulate his feelings more clearly.

Ken studied him thoughtfully. He knew that he needed help if was going to defeat Daemon, as much as he hated to admit it. Slowly, he nodded to Davis and sat back down. "Alright, but we will have to move fast, before he tries again." Turning back to the laptop, he started humming a tune under his breath. 

Davis, relieved that he wouldn't have to physically stop Ken from leaving, listened to what the young genius was humming. It sounded familiar to Davis, who recognized it after a few bars.He was surprised by it though. He had always thought Ken listened to opera or classical stuff. He was about to open his mouth and suggest to Ken that they call the others when the dark-haired genius leaned forward and began to type furiously on the laptop. As he typed, he began to sing under his breath, and Davis's hair stood up on the back of his neck as he listened to the words.

I see a red door and I want it painted black 

_No colours anymore, I want them turn to black_

_I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes_

_I have to turn my head until my darkness goes_

Davis swallowed hard at the diamond-hard resolve shining the dark violets eyes. Davis could only thank his lucky stars that the object of that resolve was directed not at himself.

"What is it?" Ken asked calmly.

"What are you going to do?" Davis asked uneasily. Ken had seemed to know that Davis was going to speak without looking at him.

A slow sneer grew on Ken's lips as he continued to contemplate the screen."Daemon will pay for what he did, Davis," Ken stated in a matter of fact tone. "I am going to wipe every last trace of him off the Digital world. I will delete the very memory of him."

Davis's eyes widened. "Can you do that?" he asked in awe.

Ken favored Davis with a withering look. "There is nothing I cannot do," he said with such confidence that Davis believed him. But Davis, even though he was only eleven, wasn't the leader of the Digidestined for nothing. He instinctively knew there was something wrong about Ken. Something that reminded him of the 

_(Emperor)_

time before they were friends and partners. That cold aura that Ken had told the Digidestined that had surrounded him since he had first entered the Digital world seemed to re-emerge. And even though Davis was the leader, he knew there were times when he needed the help of older, more experienced minds than his own.

"I'm going to call the others," he mumbled and fled to the telephone in the kitchen.Ken didn't appear to notice. He was too busy typing at his computer, planning to utterly destroy his parents' murderer.

Ken had just sent an e-mail to a Computer Science professor he knew at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Professor had been on the panel that had judged the competition that Ken had won with his toothbrush program. The professor, very impressed with Ken's programming skills, had introduced himself to the young genius after the competition and they had been exchanging e-mails ever since. Now Ken sent a request for information concerning computer viruses.

While he logged onto the Internet to send his request, Ken started formulating a battle plan in his mind.Obviously Daemon had escaped from the Black Ocean, so sending him back wasn't an option. Not that Ken would even entertain anything less than complete and total annihilation of the thing responsible for his parents' deaths.The renegade Digimon could move back and forth between the Digital world and the real world with ease.But Ken had an ace up his sleeve.He still had his dark Digivice, and something more.

Ken knew he was justified in his actions, and doubted that any of the other Digidestined would actively try to stop him. Some of them like Cody or Yolei might balk at the thought of destroying Daemon so completely, but Ken felt sure that Davis and maybe even TK might help him.And as much as he hated to admit it, he would need more than Imperialdramon to pull this one off.

Hell, Imperialdramon with the help of two Ultimates had been nowhere near strong enough to defeat that evil Mega. Maybe three Megas might be able to defeat Daemon, but Ken wanted more than to merely defeat him. He wanted that Digimon to suffer, and then die with the knowledge that he had utterly failed. Ken became aware that he was singing again, softly, under his breath.

Maybe then I'll fade away and leave you to face the facts 

_It's not easy really, when your whole world is black_

_I look inside myself and see my heart is black_

_I see my red door and it's pattern painted black_

If Ken had stopped to analyze his mindset, he may have been rather disturbed by the dark tinge in his thoughts. But Ken was too focused on his target to realize that the darkness that was usually tucked away in the back of his mind was growing, feeding off his grief and rage.The only thing on his mind was revenge. He had felt the darkness beginning to stir in the depths of his mind when he had first received the news of his parents' death, but the numbing shock of the tragedy had distracted him from being concerned.

If he would have sat down and thought about it, he might have realized that he was welcoming the darkness back into his life. But all he knew was that something had killed his parents and he was willing to go to any lengths to avenge them. He told himself that he wanted to stop Daemon from hurting anyone else near him, and that after Daemon had been stopped, he would banish the darkness back to the corner of his mind where it belonged. But Ken was only eleven, and sometimes even a genius can make a mistake. 

Out in the kitchen, Davis waited impatiently for someone to answer his call. Finally, a male voice answered, "Hello?"

"Tai?" Davis asked in low tones over the phone, glancing back at the living room where Ken was still typing at the laptop.

"Yeah, what's up Davis?" Tai answered absently, the sound of music blared in the background.

"We have a problem," Davis started, and proceeded to tell the first Digidestined leader everything.

TBC

Painted Black is by the Rolling Stones.


	4. Dark Spore Rising

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. So although I try to stick to cannon as much as possible, there are some things that I have to guess at. Oh yeah, it's becoming slightly AU. Hope that doesn't bother you too much.

As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession. 

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Chapter 4

They met in the park.

As soon as he got done speaking with Davis, Tai had called the other Digi-destined that were available.Mimi, of course was out of reach in America, but Joe assured the elder Keeper of Courage that he would e-mail her and keep her apprised of the situation.

Sora was out of town for the week, but had responded to Izzy's e-mail, sending her love and support to the others, since she couldn't be there in person.

An hour after Davis made the first call, they gathered under a clump of oak trees. The sun-dappled shade played intricate patterns over the ten young Chosen Children and some of their Digimon partners. For a moment, no one spoke. They were not sure where to begin.The sound of the nearby traffic filled the gap, and the breeze whispered through the leaves overhead.

Finally, Tai cleared his throat and turned to Davis and Ken, who was sitting with his back to the trunk of one of the trees, Leafmon sitting quietly in his lap. The breeze stirred the green leaf on the baby Digimon. 

"You said that Daemon has escaped from the Dark Ocean?" the elder Keeper of Courage asked. He didn't mention Ken's parents. Tai was not the most tactful, and he wasn't sure how to approach the subject.

Davis nodded, glancing at Ken, who was staring off into the distance, his straight dark hair stirring around his face in the cool breeze.

"Yeah," Davis said, and proceeded to relate his and Ken's little adventure at the television station earlier that day.

Izzy, who had been studying Ken's laptop with intense interest and a smidgen of professional jealousy, accessed the video Ken had copied from the traffic control center."Guys, here it is," he informed the group. All of them except Ken clustered around Izzy, peering over his shoulder to get a good look at the scene. Ken just remained sitting under the tree, humming under his breath.

They watched in silence as the massacre was played out in front of their eyes in digital reality.And hidden, but somehow not from their eyes, was Daemon. He was standing nearby, seemingly invisible to the people on the street. But Izzy noticed that people, even though they couldn't see the digital monster, were avoiding the area where Daemon was standing. A few were even wrinkling their noses, as if they smelled something that was rotten.

After they had seen the evidence and Izzy closed the program, silence once again descended on the group. Each one lost in their own thoughts as they tried to make sense out of it all.

It was Davis, predictably that broke the silence. "Well, I say we go to the Digital World and kick Daemon's ass," he proposed.

"Definitely," Tai agreed, and there were general murmurs of agreement from the rest of the Digi-destined as well.

"We need a plan," Matt reminded them, his blond hair stirred in the breeze. Of all of them, it was Matt who was the most deliberate. He liked to think things through and then go charging in and wreaking havoc.

"Simple," Davis shrugged. "We open a digiport, arrive in the Digital World, grab Agumon and Gabumon, along with the rest, have them digivolve into their Mega forms and beat the snot out of Daemon." He looked to the others to see what they thought of his plan.

"Simple, straightforward," Tai evaluated out loud, "I like it."

"You would," Joe said sourly. "Has it occurred to you guys that that is probably what Daemon expects us to do and is ready for that? Don't you think that he might have something planned to stop us from doing that?"

"Joe's right," TK said thoughtfully. "I'll bet he's just waiting for us to get to the Digital World so he can take us out all in one fell swoop."

"Ok, then what do we do?" Davis asked sarcastically.

"Know our enemy," Izzy replied promptly, still playing with Ken's laptop. "What do we know about Daemon?"

"He's an incredibly powerful Mega digimon," Kari said quietly, stroking Gatomon's silky fur. She had been studying Ken, who had yet to contribute to the conversation.

"He can open a gate between our world and the Digital one," Yolei supplied as she adjusted her huge glasses.

"Yeah, and he has friends too I'll bet," Cody piped up from where he was sitting between Yolei and Kari. 

"Ok," Izzy acknowledged. "What does he want?" and looked up to see the others staring at him.

"He wants Ken," Davis said rolling his brown eyes at Izzy missing the obvious answer.

"Why?" Izzy asked. 

"Because Ken has the dark spore," said TK said, not understanding where Izzy was going with this. Ken was still looking off into the distance, not caring that they were talking about him.

"So what?" Izzy asked. "Daemon is one of the most powerful Digimon in existence. Why would he want the dark spore?"

The others began to look a little unsure of themselves. "Because it would make him even more powerful?" Joe offered.

"Maybe," Izzy hedged. He had the distinct feeling that there was more going on here than they knew about, and not having all the information irritated him a little. "What do we know about the dark spore?" he questioned. 

"It makes a person evil," Davis replied with an apologetic glance at Ken, who was ignoring them all, still lost in his own thoughts.

"Besides that," Izzy said a bit impatiently. He hated to waste time with the obvious. Looking over at Ken, he decided that it was time to bring the Child of Kindness into the conversation. "Ken?"

Ken turned and looked at him. "What?" he asked as he reached up to brush a few stray strands of hair out of his violet eyes.

"Tell us about the dark spore," Tai said, his brown eyes were serious.

"What do you want to know?" he asked back, all too aware of the eyes on him. Leafmon stirred in his lap, then subsided.

"How has it changed you?" Joe asked, looking at him with a clinic air of detachment.

Ken frowned, reluctant to share his differences even with his friends.

But Davis jumped in. "He doesn't eat," the younger bearer of Courage and Friendship supplied.

Ken jerked his head up at give Davis a look. "You know about that?" he asked half in surprise half in chagrin.

"Of course, dude! I know that you manage to slip most of your food onto my plate. Not that I mind, mind you. But I did notice you hardly ever eat. Even I notice some things once in a while," Davis said loftily.

Ken looked down, a faint blush painted over his pale skin.

"What else?" Izzy asked, trying to keep the conversation on track.

"He can open a gate without a monitor," Kari said quietly. 

The others looked at her in surprise, then Yolei's own eyes widened as she remembered her field trip to Kyoto. "Yes! He can! He brought Poromon to me through a gate in the river, and then he and Stingmon went back through the gate!" She jumped to her feet and glared at Ken. "You can make a gate anywhere!" she accused.

Ken eyed her, not sure if the volatile girl would physically attack him. "Yes I can," he admitted. "But it takes more time and energy than just using a monitor." He looked at the others, looking for anything in their eyes that might seem accusing. So far, they all just looked fascinated. But he still felt a little defensive. Telling himself to stay calm, and that he was being paranoid, he met their gazes squarely.

"What else?" Matt asked as he shifted to a more comfortable position, laying flat on his stomach in the grass with his chin propped up by his fists.

Ken shrugged. It was hard to put into words the things he did on instinct. Things like understanding the Digital World, and controlling the Digimon themselves.Then TK spoke up and broke Ken's thoughts.

"Well, we know that he is better at physical activities and has a photographic memory," the Keeper of Hope added, not sure if what he was saying would help, but felt it was worth mentioning.

Izzy nodded, processing the information."Ken, where is the spore anyway?" he asked.

Ken raised an eyebrow. "It buried itself right here," he said, tapping the base of his skull.

Joe rose to his feet and walked over to Ken, crouching behind the young genius and moving his black hair out of the way so he could see better. Ken sat perfectly still, with everything sense keyed toward Joe's slightest move.

"There is a small scar here," he reported. "I think the spore has embedded itself in your occipital lobe," he diagnosed. Joe retreated to where he was sitting beside Izzy. "I wonder if the spore is still there, or if it has integrated itself completely into your system," he mused. 

Ken repressed a shudder. He resented being treated like an object. It was bad enough when the media did it, but it hurt that it came from people whom he regarded as friends. 

"If that is the case," Izzy wondered aloud, "does that mean that Ken is part Digimon now?"

Ken stared at Izzy in horror. "You mean I'm not human anymore?" he asked, his violet eyes alight with fear. Leafmon buried himself closer to Ken, trying to give silent reassurance to the young boy.

Seeing Ken's reaction, Davis scooted closer to Ken. "Izzy didn't say that!" he snapped in desperation, glaring at the redhead. Ken's mental and emotional state was already shaky as it was. The Keeper of Kindness didn't need any more shocks like this right now. "You are human, with a little addition is all."

"Besides," Demiveemon chimed in from his perch on Davis' head. "Being a Digimon isn't so bad! We have a lot of fun, except when someone throws a dark spiral on you," the tiny Digimon amended. He was trying in his own way to make his Jogress partner's friend feel better. But the innocent statement produced exactly the opposite reaction.

Ken went white to the lips. The only color in his face was his violet eyes, turning towards black.Without a word, the young genius pushed himself to his feet and clutching Leafmon like a lifeline, he stalked off. The other Digi-destined stared in shock at the blue digimon perched on Davis' head. Davis glared up at his partner.

"Sorry Davis," he hung his head, knowing he had said the wrong thing. 

Davis sighed and reached up and stroked the silky blue hide. "It's ok," he said. "You meant well." The younger Child of Courage glanced at the others. "I'll go get him," he reassured them.

"Davis, can someone else go get him?" Kari asked hesitantly. "I think we need to talk some more."

Seeing how serious the Child of Light was, TK volunteered, "I'll go get him." The others nodded and with Patomon perched on his hat, TK rose to his feet and proceeded in the direction that Ken had taken.

"What is it?" Davis asked.

"Has Ken seemed different to you?" she asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes that the breeze loosed from the clip.

Davis started to answer an automatic no, but seeing how serious Kari looked, reconsidered his answer. He dropped his brown eyes and studied the grass. "Yes, but I thought it was because his parents had died," he said.

Kari nodded and bit her lip. "Has he cried at all?" she asked gently. The others were looking at her, but her gaze never left Davis.

Davis shook his head. "No." He didn't want to betray his friend but Kari had asked. "He has nightmares, but he hasn't cried once."

Kari sighed and exchanged a concerned look with Gatomon, who was a few feet away."Ken told us that the spore fed off of negative emotions. It amplified them," she explained, hoping Davis and the others would see where she was going. Davis just sat there, waiting for her to get to the point. Sighing, she tried to remember that this was Davis. "I think the dark spore in no longer dormant."

Davis blinked. "No way!" he exclaimed, but there was an uncertainty in his voice. "Are you saying that Ken is going to try to take over the Digital World again?" The rest of the Digi-destined were leaning forward, listening intently.

Kari shook her head. "No, not at this point. But if we aren't there for him, his pain and anger might lead him back to evil."

"Kari, are you sure?" Tai asked softly. 

The Child of Light drew in a breath. "Ken once said that when he was under the spore's influence, whenever he felt pain, he wouldn't cry, he would just go numb. I think that is what is happening again." She looked unhappy and Gatomon snuggled under her arm, trying to comfort her.

"Oh boy," Davis breathed. "We gotta stop that." The rest of the Digi-destined nodded in agreement.

They looked up as TK and Ken walked back to the group. Ken didn't look at anyone, but kept his gaze firmly on the ground in front of him. He didn't look particularly upset, except for the firm set to his jaw.

"Have we decided on a plan yet?" TK asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"We are working on it," Izzy assured them. "We have to see if we can come up with a way to destroy a virus Digimon."

Surprisingly, it was Ken who answered him. "I e-mailed a friend from MIT in America. He's a Professor in the Computer Science department." Ken's voice was very calm, although his face was pale. Davis frowned as he saw a strange gleam in his best friend's violet eyes. He remembered what Kari had said and repressed a shudder.

Izzy, not seeing it, slid the laptop over to the Child of Kindness. "Here, see if he's replied yet."

Ken sat down and logged on to the Internet.For a moment, the only sounds were the traffic nearby, and the rustling of the leaves overhead.The sun-dappled shade played over them, and none of them looked at each other. Then the screen of the laptop went black.

"Izzy, what did you do to my computer?" Ken asked quietly, but with a deadly undertone to it. Kari and Cody drew a breath, but the others just remained still, like the quiet before the storm.

The redhead was puzzled. "Nothing, I just accessed the video file. Why?" Izzy asked in a calm, professional tone.

Ken was about to reply, when the screen flashed blood red."Hello, Ken Ichijouji." A deep voice oozed out of the small speakers in the laptop.

The Digi-destined stiffened in surprise, then crowded around the genius child, who froze at the keyboard. Then, very deliberately, Ken asked in a bored tone. "What do you want Daemon?"

The voice chuckled, it sounded to the children like gravel being slowly ground into powder."What I have always wanted, young Ken. You."

"Then why didn't you just come after me? Why kill my parents? They had nothing to do with this," For the first time, Ken showed some emotion. Traces of anger, rage and hate laced his voice, making it shake just the slightest bit. "Why didn't you just come after me?" he repeated softly.

"My dear boy," Daemon answered in mocking sorrow. "I did it to awaken the dormant spore inside you. You needed to be hurt so bad that you would turn anywhere to escape the pain. Did it work? I think it did." Daemon finished with self-satisfaction.

Ken didn't answer. Davis reached out and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. He could feel Ken's slender body shaking, but the young genius' face was remarkably neutral, with a little contempt thrown in for variety's sake.

"Well, you can't have it!" Davis snapped at the Mega Digimon."Get another one, this one is Ken's."

"There is no other. The one embedded in the child is the last one in existence. I will have it!" Daemon replied, losing his oily, confident tone in his desperation to get what he wanted.

"Why do you need the spore?" Izzy jumped in, wanting his previous question answered by the one being who could. They held their breath, and listened. "You are a very strong Mega. What can the spore offer you?"

"That spore contains the original program that created the Digital World," Daemon answered. Izzy drew in a quick breath, but the others were so intent on the conversation that they completely missed what had struck the redhead like a bolt of lightning. "It's mine and I will have it! I need the dark spore inside that child," Daemon sneered. "Give it to me," the Mega demanded.

"Get bent, Daemon," Ken answered laconically. "You killed my parents, and then expect me to just give it to you? I think not!" The contempt was clearer now, and the temperature in his voice dropped several degrees. 

"I _will_ have you and the dark spore, Ken. You will surrender yourself to me, or more of your friends will die!" With that final announcement, the blood red screen of the laptop flared, and then went dark as the machine itself started whirring as it went through the re-boot process.

"Oh man," Davis said, as they all slowly settled back to their previous positions. "We have to stop him." Davis hadn't removed his hand from Ken's shoulder yet, but he could still feel the tension vibrating throughout Ken's body.

It was Izzy who replied. "The original program for the creation of the Digital World? Prodigious," he breathed in wonder.

"What is so great about that?" Tai wanted to know. All their lives were in grave danger and Izzy was excited about a program. Typical.

"Don't you get it?" Izzy demanded. "Ken has access to the original program for the creation of the Digital World!" he said, as if it explained everything.

Seeing the blank looks from the others, Izzy shook his head in frustration. "C'mon guys! Pay attention." Still seeing the blank looks, Izzy elucidated. "Think about it. If someone came along, someone who had the knowledge and the ability to create the Earth, what would you call that person?"

It was Cody who answered. "Most people would call them God," he said thoughtfully. The others gasped in astonishment.

Izzy nodded. "Exactly."

TBC


	5. Time is a Funny Thing

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. So although I try to stick to cannon as much as possible, there are some things that I have to guess at. Oh yeah, it's becoming slightly AU. Hope that doesn't bother you too much.

As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession. 

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Chapter 5

Time is a funny thing.

It does strange things. In theory, it should flow smoothly, never altering its course as it travels on its never-ending journey. But sometimes there are rapids, and even falls along the way. Or still pools of quiet before resuming its course along its eternal passage.

Most people would call them God 

In the utter stillness that followed Cody and Izzy's exchange, while the shadows didn't lengthen, and the sun stayed in place, Davis would never forget the look on Ken's face. He had just happened to be looking at Ken, and their eyes had locked when Cody's softly spoken words had impacted on the air.

The one thing that most people noticed right away about the famous child prodigy was his eyes. So blue they tended toward violet, surrounded by thick charcoal lashes. You would think that looking into those soft eyes, you would be able to see whatever Ken was feeling exquisitely showcased. 

Wrong.

Ken's eyes were like the ocean. All you saw was the pretty surface; the unimaginable depths were completely hidden behind the violet shade.It was only because he was Ken's best friend that Davis was allowed to see a bit more than the breathtaking view.On rare occasions Davis could see beyond the violet and into the deeper part of his friend where the Child of Kindness' true self was. Such occasions were only when under extreme emotional duress that Ken's pretty walls would drop enough for a person who knew him well enough, (like Davis) to get the barest glimpse of the tortured soul behind them.

Time is a funny thing. In that briefest instant that lasted an eternity, Davis was able to read Ken like a Dr. Seuss book. Surprise and amazement flickered like waves upon the sand. Disbelief mingled with denial followed, crashing onto the sand. And throughout the turmoil, was pure, unadulterated fear and self-doubt.

Then Ken blinked and the walls were back, firmly in place once more. The others, who had sat in stunned silence for a heartbeat, exploded into a fury of questions and astonished comments.

This went on for nearly thirty seconds before Tai had had enough. "All right people, put a sock in it!" he bellowed. They subsided, muttering a bit rebelliously then shut up.

Tai drew a deep breath then turned to Izzy. "Ok, I am not willing to say that Ken is some sort of god," he nodded apologetically at the Child of Kindness, who shrugged back. "But even if that is the case, we still have to deal with Daemon first, then we'll decide what we should do about Ken, if anything.I hate to say it, but I think our best option is Davis' plan," Tai said, glancing at Matt, who raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Daemon is too strong, and he knows we are coming, so the element of surprise is out. We should go in and hit him as hard as we can with everything we got."

Matt frowned, but didn't argue. Joe brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, opened his mouth, changed his mind, and then shut it again. The others, with a blend of fear and excitement, nodded in agreement.

"Kari, can you contact Agumon so he can get the other Digimon together to meet us," Tai asked his sister and she assured him that she would. Tai smiled at her with approval.

Ken watched his friends and fellow Digi-destined start to make plans to go into battle.He knew they were going on what was basically a suicide mission.Daemon was waiting for them, and would most likely attack them as soon as they entered the Digital world. He wished there was another way. He wished…and blinked as a sudden idea struck his agile mind.

Knowing he only had a few minutes to work, he opened up his laptop and started accessing programs.The others, except for Izzy, ignored him for the time being. But Izzy was a bit distracted and missed some of the most vital information flowing across the screen.

"I'll open a gate to the Digital world, so we can bring the laptop in case we need it," Ken offered after he had finished with what he was doing.The others nodded and Ken closed the lid of the computer, not shutting it off.

The others all stood up, looking nervous but grim with determination. "Are we ready?" Tai asked.

They nodded.

"Digi-gate open!" Ken shouted, gritting his teeth in concentration and feeling the rush of power flowing out of his body as the dark Digivice accessed the power of the spore. How could he have given this up? This wonderful, heady feeling of being unconquerable. The seductive darkness whispered to him, urging him to give in, use the power to punish, no, _kill_ Daemon, and anyone else who had ever hurt him. Remembering Davis and the others, Ken resolutely ignored the urge, pushing it away.

Until he needed it, that is.

The gate opened slowly, but surely.Soon, the bright light, shining out of a tear in the air in front of them indicated that the gate was open enough to pass through.

"Go!" Ken commanded, and without a thought, they dived through the portal. Tai, with Matt on his heels, TK and Patomon, Izzy, who was carrying Ken's laptop, Joe and Cody after him.Yolei and Kari, each carrying their respective Digimon partners and last of all Davis, with Demiveemon. Some instinct made Davis turn around at the last second and look at Ken, who was still holding his dark Digivice up, and watching them leave.The look on Ken's face made his brown eyes widen in horror.

"Ken, NO!" he screamed, even as he felt himself sucked into the gate and downloaded into the Digital World.With a silent snap, the gate closed, leaving Ken and Leafmon alone in the park, under the shade trees.

"I'm sorry my friends," he murmured to the air in front of him. "But I must do this alone."

TBC


	6. In the Halls of the Dead

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. 

I finally found some information on Daemon. He was listed as a Demon Lord. **Waves a piece of piece of paper** Artistic license is being used here, folks. Sorry if things aren't quite according to cannon. As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession. 

Chapter 5In the Halls of the Dead

They leapt out of the light into another world. The first thing that they noticed was that Davis was screaming something about Ken.

"Davis, calm down!" Tai ordered. "What's the problem?"

"It's Ken!" Davis exploded in frantic rage. "He didn't come with us!" Davis was almost dancing in fury at Ken's actions.

"He didn't?" Matt asked in surprise and they all looked around, in a vain attempt to find the Keeper of Kindness.

"Uh, guys, where are we anyway?" Joe asked, looking down at the ground. It sank in at that time that something was not right.

In the Digital world, they were used to seeing strange things in weird places. Finding a vending machine in the middle of the forest was commonplace, as was a monitor in a snow bank. It was a twisted version of the real world, in a fever-dream sort of way. But this place was nothing like that. The Digidestined found themselves in a place that was filled with absolutely nothing.

There was nothing to break the monotonous skyline, which was the same grayish white shade as the ground.No sun shone down from above, no plants grew from below. It was a place of total and utter blankness.

"What a boring world," Yolei observed and TK and Kari nodded in agreement. "This isn't part of the Digital world is it?"

Izzy shook his head. "I don't think so, unless it's another one of those weird side dimensions, " he answered as he opened up Ken's laptop. "I am not sure why Ken sent us here, but if we can access a Digi-port from the laptop, we can get out of here and into the Digital world where we belong," he said as he typed the commands to open up a Digi-port.

"Good idea!" Tai congratulated with excitement. Davis shifted impatiently. He hated to let Ken out of his sight for a moment. He just knew that the young genius would get into all sorts of trouble without him. Kari reached out and squeezed his arm in reassurance. He gave her a thin-lipped smile, but the worry didn't fade from his brown eyes.

As they waited, Izzy frowned. Seeing it, Joe asked, "What is it? Or is it something that I don't want to know?" he moaned. 

The redhead shook his head. "Ken left a message for us," he reported.

"What does it say?" TK asked as they all crowded around the computer whiz.

"It says: I'm sorry about this, but it was the only way to make sure that all of you would be out of my way. The dimension you are in is an empty world, so you won't be attacked. I have a security lock on the Digi-port program. Don't worry, it should only take Izzy about 15 minutes to crack the program and get you out of there. Signed Ken. PS Davis, I'm counting on you to bring me back." Izzy read.

They all looked at Davis, who stared back blankly. He had no idea what Ken had meant.

"Izzy!" Tai brought their attention back to the problem.

"I'm on it!" was Izzy's sharp reply. He started working, trying every trick he had ever learned or imagined to break through the security codes. The minutes ticked by, and the Digidestined prayed that Izzy would be able to get them to the Digital world in time to save their friend.

'Ken,' Davis thought, half crazed with worry, 'you had better be still alive when we get there, or I'll kill you myself!'

The broken hulk of the fallen fortress loomed above them when Ken and Leafmon landed in the Digital world. Ken immediately sensed the cold darkness the accompanied the Demon Lord in the back of his mind, and knew that Daemon could sense his presence in the Digital world as well. "I'd better hurry," he muttered.

Breaking into a ground-eating jog, Ken with Leafmon safely ensconced in his arms entered the pile of ruins. For a moment he paused in the large tear he used for an entrance, remembering. The silent ghosts of those he tortured here seemed to whisper to him, accusing him, hating him. Shuddering, Ken stepped into the gloom.

_"All is silent in the halls of the dead_

_All is forgotten in the stone halls of the dead_

_Behold the stairways which stand in darkness_

_Behold the rooms of ruin_

_These are the halls of the dead where the spiders spin _

_And the great circuits fall quiet, one by one."_

_ _

"What did you say Ken?" Leafmon asked.

Ken jumped. He hadn't realized that he had said that aloud. "Its nothing, just something I remembered from a book I read a while ago," he replied, wincing at the way his voice echoed in the half-lit crumbling halls of the abandoned fortress. 

"Ken?" Leafmon asked as Ken carefully made his way down the ruined corridor with the baby Digimon cradled in his arms.

"What?" Ken asked shortly. He wasn't mad, just concentrating on keeping his footing while ducking and jumping with catlike grace over debris. He had to hurry; he could feel the Demon Lord's presence growing in the back of his mind like a cancer. There were things he needed if he was going to pull this off.

"Where are the others?" the leaf-topped ball of cuteness asked. 

"I sent them to that weird dimension I found when I was experimenting with gating, back when I was the Emperor. Remember that empty place?" Ken responded, skidding around a corner and picking his way down a broken flight of stairs as fast as he dared. _Dammit, why did I make this place so big?_ he wondered. _I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time._

_ _

"Why?" Leafmon twisted around so he could look into Ken's eyes, which were shrouded in shadows.

"Because if we had all arrived in the Digital world together, Daemon would have attacked at once, before we were ready to fight. And given his past behavior, many of the Digi-destined would be killed. I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt on account of me." Ken sighed as he shifted his friend in his arms and stepped up into a jog. "Daemon is on his way here right now, can you feel him?" 

Leafmon nodded soberly. He could feel the Demon Lord approaching like an imminent storm.

"I'm going to need you to warp-digivolve in a few minutes to Stingmon," he told his partner as the gloom caused him to miscalculate a turn and slam into a twisted beam. He needed to hurry, but if he didn't slow down, he would undoubtedly fall and break something. He didn't need that to happen.

"Sure, Ken." The little Digimon tried to sound supportive, but it was very frightened. He could feel what was in Ken's heart, and the darkness seemed to be growing stronger. What was worse was that Ken didn't seem to be fighting it anymore.

"Another thing, do not call me Ken. Call me master, or Digimon Emperor, got it?" Ken instructed. He could feel Daemon getting closer and closer. It was easy to picture the Demon Lord coming at him, relentlessly, like that movie Davis had made him watch once. The Terminator.

Leafmon started to shake at Ken's words, but didn't question his orders. As if sensing the tiny Digimon's doubt, Ken just said, "Trust me." Then they were at their destination. _Please let it still be intact. _

_ _

He entered the dark cavern that had once served as his control center. As he stepped into the vast room, his footsteps echoing in the silence that hung like a shroud, he recalled the passage from Stephen King's book again. It seemed fitting for this situation. __

The main control room was in shambles, but Ken ignored the mess. Striding to the center of the room, he set Leafmon down and placed his hands in the air in front of him, like he was getting ready to play a pretend piano.Drawing on the power of his dark Digivice, Ken concentrated. A keyboard appeared under his fingertips, and Ken immediately began to type commands. 

The major change was his clothes.The outfit he had been wearing was transformed into a version of his old Emperor's uniform, except for some significant changes. It was indigo with black panels, instead of blue with white. His shades were the same as before, but his hair remained the same style as usual. He had no desire to look like Sam anymore. He was Ken.

The gold-lined cape was black, as were his gloves and boots. A black belt fit snugly at his slender waist, from which his D3 hung. Perched on his inner forearm was something different though. It was a tiny computer screen. Hanging from its chain around his neck was his Crest of Kindness. He was not sure why he had brought it, but it felt right somehow. Satisfied, he turned to Leafmon. "Ready?" he asked. 

"Where did you get the outfit?" the little Digimon asked.

Ken replied as he set his D3. "I designed it to wear for when I conquered the Digital world. It has several interesting modifications that I hope will help to protect me from Daemon's attacks." As he was explaining, he was thinking about power.

Power. Daemon had it. Ken had it. Now it was time to see who had more. 

Ken closed his eyes and turned his thoughts inward.He could feel the dark power of the spore, with all the might of the dark ocean behind it. It was his to draw on, his to use. Focusing all his pain and rage, all his anger and hatred into the darkness, he dropped the blocks he had built around the power inside of himself.

Blackness ripped through his mind, amplifying his emotions as he screamed, partially in rage, partially in grief at what he was doing to himself. His hate knew no bounds, and as it grew, so did the power he unleashed. Along with the power came the heady, seductive _false_ belief of being unconquerable.The power was his, and now Daemon would suffer.

"Now Leafmon!" he ordered, his voice as hard as ice. 

"Leafmon, warp-digivolve to Stingmon!"Ken's D3 screamed to life and Leafmon leaped into the air, his tiny shape growing exponentially as he digivolved from his baby to his champion state. His body took on a vaguely humanoid form and turned a dark green. Red eyes glowed and huge dragonfly wings sprouted from his back. 

As Stingmon drew power from the Digivice, he understood what Ken had in mind, and all his questions ceased. Ken was his partner, and Stingmon would do anything in his power to support him

Is if they were sharing the same thoughts, Stingmon swooped down towards the Keeper of Kindness, who leaped impossibly high into the air. At the height of his leap, Stingmon passed below him, and Ken was kneeling on the champion's back, nestled between the gossamer wings. As they rose, Stingmon extended an arm, a red blade extended from his wrist.

"Spiking Strike!" 

They punched through the crumbling ceiling, sending showers of rubble crashing down below into the collapsing control room, and rose high into the afternoon sky in an impressive display of grace and power. Stingmon turned into a lazy circle as Ken, with one hand placed in front of his knees for balance, studied the small screen on his inner forearm. The wind blew his hair out of his eyes, and his cape fluttered behind him. The only sound he could hear was the drone of the twin sets of translucent wings that beat the air around him.

He looked up, frowning and pointed to the west. Blackness was building in the Digital sky. 

"He's coming from that way." Stingmon nodded and went into a shallow dive to pick up some speed. Ken smirked. _Daemon, you are going down._

TBC

The Halls of the Dead is from Stephen King's Waste Land.


	7. Fear In a Handful of Dust

To Sleep…Perchance to Dream

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. 

Artistic license is being used here, folks. Sorry if things aren't quite according to cannon. As always, I thank my sister Reber for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession as well as letting me post this fic under her name. And to Megchan, whose Digimon encyclopedia was invaluable. 

A special thank you for those of you who have reviewed To Sleep. Your encouragement means a lot to me!

_ _

_And I will show you something different from either_

_Your shadow in the morning striding behind you_

_Or your shadow at the evening rising to meet you;_

_I will show you fear in a handful of dust_

T.S. Eliot"_The Waste Land"_

Chapter 7

Fear in a Handful of Dust

Ken jumped off of Stingmon, landing with a soft _whumph_ on the rocky terrain.The champion Digimon settled behind him, a silent sentinel guarding the former Digimon Emperor's back. 

"It pleases me to see that you are smart enough to surrender, young Ken," Daemon greeted them, his voice thick as smoke. The demon lord stood about fifty feet from where they landed. "I am surprised, but pleased." The sky above him was dark and churning, like a hurricane at sunset.

_'At least there is no worry about getting sunburned',_ Ken thought, taking his time before answering, scanning the area, looking for other Digimon that might think it their business to join into the discussion. It seemed clear of party crashers, but Ken remained wary. There were many rocky outcroppings that could conceal Digimon from him and Stingmon, even though they had done an aerial sweep before landing.

"Think what you want, Daemon." Ken replied easily, the wind ruffling his cape and hair. Behind him, Stingmon remained silent and watchful. The tension in the air was almost palpable, and in spite of himself, Ken nearly laughed. He half expected to see tumbleweed go rolling by at any time.

The smirk of triumph was easily heard in Daemon's voice. "Why else are you here, unaccompanied by those Digibrats?" he asked, moving closer to the boy and his Digimon partner."Unless you think that your pet can defeat me?"

Ken shrugged. "He's just here for comic relief." '_I have definitely been hanging around Davis too much'._

Daemon's fiery eyes flicked uncertainly from Ken to the somber countenance of Stingmon, who stared back with unblinking red eyes. With a surge of annoyance, Daemon got the feeling that Ken was mocking him. It was hard to tell what the boy was thinking behind those dark glasses, hiding his eyes. "Enough, come with me Ken. We have much to do," he commanded.

"I don't think so," Ken smirked. One hand on his hip, the other hung at his side, the picture of cool confidence. 

Daemon once again felt a slight flicker of unease. He couldn't figure out why Ken was so confident. By rights, the boy should be terrified, on his knees and begging for his life! Then Daemon caught himself. It was a bluff, that's all. The demon lord was the most powerful Digimon alive. He had nothing to worry about from a simple human boy. 

"It matters not what you think, boy. Come here, now," Daemon commanded, raising one hand in a threatening manner.

Ken cocked his head to one side, as if considering, then grinned a cheeky grin, a reflection from his emperor days. "Daemon, if you want me, you have to come and get me," he explained in a condescending tone. "That's how this game is played."

"Fine then! When I get my hands on you, you will find out this is not a game." Daemon was through playing with the child. When the demon lord got his hands on Ken, he would make that insolent brat suffer like no one had suffered before. He strode toward the boy, his fury growing with every step. The boy waited for him patiently, still smirking. Daemon growled low in his throat as he reached out to grab theChild of Kindness.

Moving faster than one would have ever thought possible, Ken's hand blurred to his side and he pulled out his whip from where it had hung on his belt under his cloak. The leather screamed through the air towards the demon lord's outstretched hand.

CRACK

The whip wrapped around Daemon's wrist. Startled, Daemon stared at the whip in disbelief. Then his pupiless eyes flicked to Ken, whose satisfied expression never changed. Daemon was about to ask what the boy though he was doing when a wave of pure black raced along the length of the whip, from the butt to the tip, searing the Digimon with its intense energy.

With a cry, Daemon fell back, not from fear or pain, but from surprise. Ken shook the whip loose and still holding the smooth handle, let the length of the weapon fall to the ground in front of him, like a pet snake that would strike on command. He was about to taunt Daemon yet again, having been around Davis he knew the value of a well-chosen insult, when a voice interrupted them.

"I see the cub has grown fangs." The voice was as cold and as dark as a patch of midnight.

Both Ken and Stingmon spun around to face this new player in the game. The owner of the voice was a huge black Digimon whose face consisted of one large eye. Batlike wings flared on its back. The tiny scanners in Ken's shades picked up the newcomer's identity and fed it to the computer perched on his wrist. Glancing down, Ken's jaw tightened.

Daemon greeted the newcomer. "Deathmon, it's been a long time."

Deathmon, a mega-level virus, was also a demon lord Digimon. Why he had picked this time to interfere, Ken could make a safe assumption. Now, would they join forces, or battle each other like two dogs fighting over a bone, with Ken being the bone? As the two Mega demon lords tried to stare each other down, Ken didn't move a muscle, eminently interested in this turn of events.

Daemon bowed politely to the other Digimon, making Ken's eyes narrow in anger.This was not good. He needed to drive a wedge between them, make them fight each other instead of joining forces. It was then yet another voice caught his attention.

"Hello, Daemon, Deathmon." 

Ken and Stingmon whirled around. Behind them was another Digimon. This one looked vaguely like a winged centaur. It's animal half was build like a huge black panther, and its top half looked like a Viking from hell. It had no hands, its arms ended in three sharp metallic claws. It was shrouded in darkness as well. The scanners in the glasses identified it as…

"Hello Galfmon," Deathmon greeted the newcomer. 

Galfmon, the computer identified was a demon beast Digimon. Its attacks consisted of Dead Scream and Black Requiem. Neither of these two attacks sounded pleasant.

All three of the demon Digimon were surrounding Ken and Stingmon, and ignoring their presence like one would ignore a child at an adult meeting. Ken ground his teeth and tried to hold his temper. He hated being ignored, but he knew it was the spore that was driving him, and furiously sought to control it. However, the darkness in Ken demanded that he would not be ignored. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and said in a cool sneer, "It seems that you guys have a lot to catch up on. If you are busy, I'll just go. Call me when you are ready to get down to business."

Galfmon chuckled in amusement. "The cub certainly is a bold one, Daemon. Does it really have the Spore?" The demon beast approached Ken, who stood his ground, whip at ready. Stingmon made a move to interpose himself between Ken and Galfmon, but Ken held up a restraining hand, and the Champion stayed where he was. 

"Yes, he does. He has already used it to banish me to the dark ocean once," Daemon admitted reluctantly, and Deathmon roared with laughter. 

"I like this cub! He amuses me," Deathmon laughed. 

This was too much. "I am not a cub!" Ken snapped, twitching his whip in anger. "I am the Digimon Emperor! You will call me Master." 

This pronouncement elicited yet more laughter and Ken flushed red in rage. They were laughing at him! With a Herculean effort, he reined in his temper. Forcing himself to smile again, he waited for one of them to make a move.

"Oh you are just too much, cub!" Deathmon howled, nearly doubled over. "I can see you will provide years of amusement for us."

"I am not your pet!" Ken shouted, feeling his cool control slipping away as his rage rolled in like an obscuring fog. 

"Yes you are!" And with that, the laughter was gone and all three of the Mega demons began to converge on Ken and Stingmon, with one thing shining in their eyes. 

To get Ken.

In the empty dimension, the Digi-destined were handling their situation with their usual, calm professional demeanor.

"C'mon Izzy!" Davis's shout sounded half pleading, half ordering. "Hurry up!"

"Leave him alone Davis!" Yolei hollered. "The more you bother him, the longer it will take!"

"Oh yeah?" was Davis' witty reply. "Well, Ken said it would take Izzy only 15 minutes to get us out of here, and it's been 13 already.He'd better get a move on!" The younger Keeper of Courage and Friendship knew he was acting immature, but he was so worried he didn't care. 

"Davis," Tai warned, laying a restraining hand on the smaller boy's arm.

"I know you are worried about Ken, we all are," Kari said in an attempt to forestall a full-blown fistfight. "Please try to stay calm. Fighting amongst ourselves isn't going to help Ken." All the Digi-destined had been on the razor's edge, ready to fight Daemon from the moment they entered the Digi-gate Ken had created. But thanks to Ken's sending them on a little side trip, they were currently wound up with no one to fight. No one that is, except each other.

Silence descended on the group as the tension grew. Davis was about to scream when Izzy smiled triumphantly. "Got it! Fourteen minutes, 12 seconds!" he crowed. 

"So lets go already!" Davis was crowding forward holding out his Digivice to open the portal, when Izzy clamped down on Davis' wrist. 

"Not so fast."

"Huh?" Davis blinked, trying to figure out what was going on now. "Why?"

"Look at this," Izzy motioned to the screen and the incoming information.

"What is it?" Tai asked, crowding behind Davis and peering over his shoulder.

"Its from Ken," Izzy replied as he typed instructions to open the new files.

"Ken?" Yolei demanded. "What does it say?"

Izzy was quiet for a few seconds as he read. "There are three mega-level virus Digimon currently at his position. It seems they are demon lord type," he frowned.

"Let me guess, one is Daemon," Joe said. 

Izzy nodded. "The others are Deathmon and Galfmon. Deathmon's attacks consist of Death Arrow and Explosion Eye. Galfmon is a demon beast Digimon. Its attacks consist of Dead Scream and Black Requiem. Both sound very charming. It appears that we will have our work cut out for us when we get there." 

"So that's why Ken sent us here," Matt said, and seeing the quizzical looks the others were shooting him, the blond elaborated. "He went to the Digital World alone to force Daemon to make the first move and give us the information that we would need to defeat him and the others. He set himself up as bait."

"Whoa," Davis breathed in wonder. "Well now that we know, lets go and save him!"

"I'm contacting Agumon and the rest. They will be in position when we get there," Izzy reported as he stared intently at the screen, still typing commands.

"Okay, here's the plan. As soon as we hit the Digital World, everyone goes to Mega if they are able. War Greymon and Hercules Kabuterimon will take Daemon. Metal Garurumon and Seraphimon will take Deathmon.Vikemon and Holy Dramon will take Galfmon. Davis, you try to get to Ken and Stingmon. If they are up to it, have Exveemon and Stingmon DNA Digivolve to Imperialdramon and give Metal Garurumon and Seraphimon a hand. Cody and Yolei, since Armadillomon and Hawkmon can't go to Mega yet, it will be your Digimon's job to protect us from stray attacks and other Digimon that might want to join in. Any questions?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, can we go already?" Davis asked plaintively. The need to get to his friend was nearly overwhelming and he didn't know how much longer he could remain in his skin. 

"Izzy?" Tai turned to the computer genius.

"Ready," Izzy confirmed. They would have to come back later and retrieve Ken's laptop. Ken knew what he was doing all along, Izzy decided as he shook his head in wonder. 

"Let's go! Digiport open!" Davis shouted and felt the light pull him inside. '_Okay Ken. We are on our way! Just hang on a few more minutes'._

Ken backed up until his back was pressed against Stingmon's leg, trying to keep all the evil Digimon in sight. They continued to approach the pair until Ken felt they were close enough. "Stingmon, now!" he snapped.

Stingmon took off straight into the air, leaving Ken alone, surrounded by the three demon Megas.Galfmon turned to go after him, but Daemon waved him off. "That one is of no consequence to us. The human is the only one that matters." Galfmon nodded and turned back, just as Ken made his move.

Holding the dark Digivice high above his head, he concentrated and then released all the power he was able to into the device. A sphere of pure midnight surrounded the young Digidestined, and blasted outward. Rocks were picked up and thrown aside and the ground underneath was blown to dust under the impact. It continued to expand, so quickly that the demon Digimon had no chance to react before it engulfed them.

Stingmon circled above, fighting every instinct to dive down into the blackness and grab Ken. Ken had forbidden him to interfere, and Stingmon trusted that Ken knew what he was doing. But it was still excruciating to watch.

The black sphere continued to blossom up and out, turning gray in the process. Soon it dissipated from the center on out, revealing Ken, still standing in the center of the devastation with the Digivice held high. For a few seconds, nothing stirred, then Stingmon's heart stopped when he heard applause, slow and deliberate, accompanied by a very familiar laugh. One that reminded those who heard it of gravel being slowly ground to dust. 

"Very impressive, cub," it sneered. And the last of the darkness faded away, leaving the sight of the three demon Digimon, whole and unharmed, surrounding the lone boy. "But did you really think that you can defeat us with dark power?"

"Ken!" Stingmon dove like a dolphin, cutting through the air as Daemon, Deathmon and Galfmon converged on Ken. Ken whirled, tossing the tip of his whip at his Digimon partner. Stingmon caught it and, using the momentum gained from his dive, climbed once again in the air with Ken trailing behind him, clinging to the butt of the whip for dear life. Ken bit his lip as he felt like his arms were being pulled out of their sockets.

"Hang on Ken!" Stingmon called to his partner as they continued to climb. Ken didn't need to be told twice as the ground fell away from them at an alarming speed. He gripped the whip handle, and couldn't help but look back at the terrible trio. Stingmon was beating his wings frantically, trying to gain as much altitude as possible. Ken's violet eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw Deathmon point in their direction.

"Stingmon! Look out!" Ken shouted. But it was too late.

"Death Arrow!"

Stingmon dodged as well as he could, but the attack was too fast and he was hampered by the overwhelming need to protect Ken. Luckily, the attack only hit him as a glancing blow, but it was more than enough to send Stingmon flailing across the sky, making him lose his grip on the whip.

"Stingmon!" Ken called frantically as he plummeted toward the ground.Stingmon, having been thrown a good distance away, was desperately trying to stabilize his fall and save Ken. But the distance was too great, and Ken was falling.

Ken twisted in mid air, in order to land on his feet. But he wasn't so deluded to know that he didn't have a chance in hell of surviving the fall no matter how fortified his suit was. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a beeping at his side was registered, but the ground rushing up to meet him demanded the bulk of his attention. As he watched the ground approach at greater and greater speed his only thought was a ridiculous one. '_Davis is going to be so pissed at me.'_

"KEN!" Stingmon screamed, sounding as if his heart was being ripped from his chest.

It occurred to Ken that he was going to die. It didn't frighten him, not really. What he did feel was regret. He would never again play soccer with Davis and their Digimon. He would never get the chance to see if Matt's band would make it big.He would never get the chance to see the new Harry Potter movie, or the Lord of the Rings either.He would never choose which college he would attend. There was no marriage and two point two children in his future. It was over and it had all been for nothing.

It had all been a waste. He was a waste.

The ground got closer.

And closer.

And it was then that he realized that he was going to be a black and indigo splotch on the rocky ground in the Digital world.

And, as the horrific finality sank in, the ground rushed up to meet him and Ken drew in a breath and screamed for the last time.

And what he screamed was "Daaaaavis!"

_Once upon a time, there was a young man named Ken Ichijouji._

__

Ken was a genius and a star athlete. He was the idol of the young, and the darling of the media. He had also discovered a game in another world, a secret world called that Digital world. Being a computer whiz, and a game master, Ken set out to win the game by conquering the Digital world. He was known as the Digimon Emperor, and he ruled with a whip, and an iron fist.

__

Then one day, some other kids showed up in the Digital world. They were known as the Digi-destined. At first they fought against Ken, but eventually they became friends and fought on the same side.They had many great adventures together. They even saved both the Digital world and the real world.

_ _

_And then…._

_ _

Ken Ichijouji…

…woke up.

Here's a list of who Digivolves to what:

Agumon - War Greymon

Gabumon - Metal Garurumon

Gomamon - Vikemon

Tentomon - Hercules Kabuterimon

Gatomon - Holy Dramon

Patamon - Seraphimon

I got this information from Megchan's ever-so-helpful Digimon encyclopedia. I know that in the series, Gomamon has not reached Mega, but I'm letting him and Joe in on the action because I like them so much!


	8. In That Sleep, What Dreams May Come

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

To Sleep…Perchance to Scream

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.

Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon. 

As always, I thank my sister Reber for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession as well as letting me post this fic under her name on FFN. And to Megchan, whose Digimon encyclopedia was invaluable. 

A special thank you for those of you who have reviewed To Sleep. Your encouragement means a lot to me!

Chapter 8

Ken Ichijouji…

…woke up.

He woke still trying to scream Davis's name. But all that forced its past his parched lips was a hoarse croak.His eyes flared open as he swallowed, hearing a dry click in his throat. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't dead. 

One didn't need to be a genius to figure out the difference between being alive and being, well, dead, but Ken was a little disoriented.

Scratch that. He was a lot disoriented. So he could be forgiven for starting with baby steps.

Once the matter of his state of animation was resolved, Ken, being the genius kind of person that he was, immediately moved from What Am I? (as in alive or dead) to Where am I? 

He was lying on a bed made up with crisp, white sheets, in a bland room. There was a stand next to the bed sporting a vase of wilted flowers as its only adornment. A television hung from a rack on the wall across from the foot of his bed. It was turned on, showing the local sports scores.A lone chair sat in the corner and a half-filled bag of liquid hung above his head. He tracked a clear tube from the bottom of the bag to a needle stuck in his left arm.

Deduction: he was in the hospital.

Ken frowned. Next question: Why was he in the hospital? Tentatively, he moved his fingers and hands and arms. Aside from being very stiff, they seemed to be in working order. He repeated the process with his feet and legs. All functioning.Puzzled, Ken sat up, trying to ignore the protesting back muscles the movement caused.Everything seemed to be intact.So there were no obvious answers to his questions. 

He examined his bed. It had railings like his bed at home, but these seemed to detach. Not wanting to waste time trying to figure out how they worked, Ken pushed the sheets aside, intending to slide down to the foot of the bed and go find out what was going on.To his disgust, he realized he was wearing one of those hospital gowns that didn't close in the back.

Image versus knowledge. It was the age-old war that has divided the nerds from the popular kids for centuries. 

The door opened abruptly, and a young man in a white coat walked in, carrying a stack of charts. He didn't look at Ken; instead he sat down in the chair, leaned back and started scribbling notes in a typical doctor scrawl.

Ken watched quietly as the doctor put down the first chart, and start on the second one. Never one to waste an opportunity like this, Ken opened his mouth and croaked, "Excuse me."

With a yelp, the young doctor flew out of the chair, scattering his charts all over the floor. He spun around and stared at Ken like the boy had suddenly risen up out of the earth. "You're awake!" he gasped.

Ken blinked. "Of course I am," he replied, his voice hoarse. He frowned and swallowed again. "I can see why you became a doctor, nothing gets by you." 

The doctor, whose ID tag read Tori Akira, MD, tried to recover from the shock of seeing Ken awake. Grimacing, Dr. Akira rolled his eyes. "I think I liked you better when you were asleep," he muttered, then grinned to show he was only kidding. He walked over to the bed, stepping over the charts on the floor and reached a hand out towards Ken's face.

Ken shied back on instinct, not wanting to be touched. 

"Take it easy, young man. I'm just going to examine you," Dr. Akira said in his best bedside manner. He pulled out a stethoscope and held it up as proof.

Forcing himself to sit still, Ken submitted to the doctor. Dr. Akira tilted Ken's head up so he could examine his eyes. "You really gave me a scare," he said absently. "I came in here to get some peace and quiet so I could catch up on some paper work. Thanks to you, I now have more." 

"So why am I in here?" Ken asked, trying to get his mind off the horrifying fact that the doctor was touching him.

"Do you remember what happened?" Dr. Akira asked.

Glaring at the doctor, Ken forced patience into his rusty voice. "If I remembered what happened, I wouldn't have asked," he said pointedly.

"I see you have forgotten your manners as well," the doctor said, and Ken, refusing to feel repentant, only stared back at Akira, waiting for an answer. Sighing, Dr. Akira gave in. "All right, let me go talk to the nurse, then we'll talk." 

Nodding, Ken watched Dr. Akira gather up his charts and leave. He wished for a drink of water, swallowing was still painful.Tugging in irritation at the IV line, Ken settled himself down and waited for the doctor to return with the promised explanation. Now that he was a little more alert, he noted his surroundings and with a surge of surprise, he realized that he was back in the real world.

So what had happened in the fight with Daemon? Did the others show up at the last minute and pull of one of their trademark rescues? The fact that Ken was still among the living was testament that there had been some sort of victory. Had he been badly hurt and brought back here to heal?

Mulling this over, Ken looked for a phone to call Davis. He wanted the Motoyimas to come and get him as soon as possible. He hated hospitals. To add to his irritation, there was no phone in the room. After what seemed an eternity, Dr. Akira came back. He was carrying a pitcher of water, and a cup. He poured some water and handed the cup to Ken, who drank gratefully.

"Okay," Dr. Akira settled down in the chair with another chart on his lap. Ken raised an eyebrow, but he was used to dealing with adults, and wasn't fazed in the least. "Let's start with some easy questions. What is your name?"

"Ken Ichijouji," Ken answered. 

"How old are you?"

"Twelve. What am I doing here?"

"Don't believe in beating around the bush, do you?" Dr. Akira closed his chart and pinned a stare at Ken. "I guess there is no real gentle way to tell you this, so I'll just take a page from your book and get right to the point. You have been in a coma for three months."

Ken looked at him. And looked at him. He opened his mouth, then closed it and then looked at him some more. Finally, he managed to find his voice. "Excuse me, I think I might have misheard you. Did you say that I've been in a coma for three months?"

Dr. Akira nodded. "A little over actually."

"Why?"

Dr. Akira shrugged. "We don't know. You had been missing for a long time. Run away is what I heard. Then one day, you turned up on your parents' doorstep, unconscious. They weren't able to wake you when your parents rushed you to the emergency room. Eventually you were transferred here to the long-term care facility. You've been in the coma the whole time."

Ken unconsciously scratched the base of his skull as he tried to absorb what Dr. Akira had told him. There was something nagging at him. He could feel that something was wrong, but he was having a hard time figuring out what it was. Then the door to his room opened and Ken looked up. 

Dr. Akira looked up and smiled. "Hello! Look whose finally awake," he greeted the newcomers.

"Oh my goodness! Ken!" his mother stopped in the doorway, tears already flowing down her cheeks as she stared at the boy as one would stare at a mirage. "Ken, you're finally awake!" she sobbed. Behind her, Mr. Ichijoiuji placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled at his son. His eyes too, were a little misty.

The doctor looked back at Ken and stopped smiling.

Ken had not moved; but now his normally white skin was almost gray.The whites of his eyes were clearly visible as he stared at his parents.His mouth opened but no sound came out.

"Ken?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked as she approached the bed. "How are you feeling? Its so good to see you awake at last." She reached out, intending to hug her son.

Ken scrambled back until his back was pressed up again the wall at the head of the bed, the tube connecting him to the IV swinging wildly. He found his voice. "You're dead!" he rasped.

"What?" his father asked in confusion. "No we're not. Ken, are you okay?" he asked, very concerned.

Shaking his head violently, Ken pressed even tighter against the wall, as if he were trying to become part of it. "No, you're dead," he insisted.

Dr. Akira had stood up by this time. "Ken? Why would you think that your parents are dead?" he asked gently, motioning for the Ichijouji's to move away from the boy.

"The bridge!" Ken snapped, not moving away from the wall, and not taking his eyes from his parents. "The bridge, it collapsed on them and killed them. Daemon…" Ken stopped, his eyes narrowing as his thoughts took a suspicious turn."I get it now," he murmured. Raising his voice, he accused, "You aren't real!"

"What, Ken?" Mr. Ichijouji asked, holding his wife in his arms, trying to give her his strength as their son muttered incoherently.

"Of course! This isn't real! It's a trick! Daemon is behind this!" Ken hissed.

"Who?" Dr. Akira asked. He was getting worried. Ken had seemed normal when he had first woken up, but now…

"Daemon! You won't get away with this!" Ken shouted at the ceiling, not caring that his hospital gown was slipping down around his shoulders. "You hear me? You won't!"

"Ken, calm down!" Dr. Akira reached out to try to restrain the seemingly hysterical boy.

As quick as a cat, Ken leaped off the bed to avoid the doctor. "Don't touch me!" he ordered. "You're a part of this too, aren't you?" Ken accused, glaring at the doctor. "Who are you? Bakamon?" he demanded angrily. He backed into the corner and jerked the IV needle out of his arm.

Dr. Akira turned to Mr. Ichijouji and motioned for his to follow him out of the room. "Go ask the nurse to please bring something to restrain the patient, and maybe have some orderlies join us as well."

Mr. Ichijouji looked worried, but did as he was asked. Dr. Akira entered the room once more. Ken was still in the corner, looking for all the world like a trapped panther. His violet eyes blazed like twin suns from underneath his straight black hair. Ken's mother was standing in the middle of the room, looking completely baffled by her son's strange behavior. She jumped when the doctor tapped her on the arm.

"Does Ken have a history of mental instability?" he asked quietly. Ken glared at him, but didn't move.

Mrs. Ichijouji shook her head. "He was always such a sweet boy," she answered helplessly. 

Dr. Akira, seeing that she wasn't going to be much help, turned to Ken. "Who is Daemon?" he asked again.

Ken snarled in reply. "He's the Digimon who is trying to get me and make me his slave. But you know that already." 

"Digimon?" Dr, Akira was mystified. "What's that?"

"A digital monster. They live in the Digital world," Ken said in a perfectly reasonable voice. "Where is Davis? And Wormmon?" he demanded.

Dr. Akira was very concerned by now. "Digital world? What's that? Have you been there?" He wanted to keep Ken talking as long as possible. Maybe he could get a fix on what sort of delusions were affecting the child genius.

"Of course!" Ken snapped impatiently. "I am…was…the Digimon Emperor. I ruled the Digital world!" He broke off when three large orderlies along with Ken's father entered the room. The child crouched down and brought his arms up in a classic stance, glaring in hate at them.

"Does he know any martial arts?" one of the orderlies asked.

"Oh yes! He has a black belt in judo!" his mother replied, standing off to the side, still looking lost.

"Great," the doctor muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Okay boys. Be as gentle as you can, he just woke up and is feeling disoriented."

The three orderlies nodded, and spread out. Mr. Ichijouji pulled his wife out into the hall and closed the door, her sobs echoing in the quiet corridor.

In the room, Ken pressed his back into the corner, so he wouldn't get blindsided. His heart was racing and his eyes narrowed in anger. He waited for them to make the first move.

Dr. Akira tried one last time. "Ken, please. Let us help you," he offered.

Ken shook his head. "Forget it, I'm not falling for any of Daemon's tricks"

Nodding to the three orderlies, Dr. Akira sighed. This was not going to be pretty.

And it wasn't.As soon as one of the orderlies got within reach, Ken's fist flew out and buried itself into his stomach. As the orderly doubled over, Ken snap-kicked him right in the jaw. As the orderly sank to the ground, Ken spun and faced his next opponent, his breathing harsh as he forced his muscles to remember ingrained moves. But it was hard. His body was weak and wasn't responding as fast as he was used to, and that was throwing him off. 

His next opponent obviously knew some martial arts and he was able to block Ken's strikes. That kept Ken occupied enough for the third orderly to tackle the boy and pin him to the ground.

Feeling strange hands upon him, preventing him from moving, made Ken lose it. Tossing aside any poise and grace, Ken bit, kicked and screamed in his rage as he fought. "Get off of me!" he shrieked. "Don't touch me!" The two remaining orderlies picked up the furiously fighting child and set him down on the bed. One pinned his hands above his head, and the other held his feet in an iron grip. 

"Nurse!" Dr. Akira called, and the nurse walked in with a syringe filled with some liquid.

Seeing it, Ken redoubled his efforts to free himself.He struggled so hard that he almost did break free. But his body was too weak, and after a while all he could do was sob quietly in frustration and helpless rage. He jumped when he felt the needle prick his skin, and soon his limbs felt much too heavy to move. Kindness' Child lay unmoving on the bed, tears streaming unchecked down his cheeks. His vision kept going in and out of focus as he fought the effects of the sedative.

"Shall we put him in restraints Doctor?" one of the orderlies asked.

"Yes, I think it's for the best, until we can get an idea of what's wrong with him," Dr. Akira said. The first orderly staggered to his feet, and was helped out of the room, passing Ken's parents on the way in.

"Doctor?" Ken's mother asked, her eyes red from crying.

"He's sedated for now. I think that is best that he be restrained until we can find out what the cause of this behavior is." Dr. Akira sighed. 

Mrs. Ichijouji cautiously approached the bed. Ken's hospital gown had come off during the fight, and he lay exposed, shivering faintly. Tenderly, she drew the sheet over him up his chest. Reaching up, she stroked the fine black hair, damp with sweat, away from the half-lidded eyes. He shuddered under her fingertips. 

"Oh Ken," she whispered brokenly.

Dr. Akira sighed. "I'm afraid that we have a very deluded boy on our hands."

TBC 


End file.
